The recently released Hiring Benchmarks Report from Employ Inc. noted a tremendous change in first-year turnover. The percentage of employees who left within their first year dropped from 23.7 percent in 2024 to 12.1 percent in 2025, a 48.9 percent decrease. This trend aligns with the latest employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which indicate that both the unemployment rate and the number of quits remain flat, suggesting people are staying in their roles.
Based on data from 6,640 customers across Jobvite, Lever and JazzHR, the 2026 Hiring Benchmarks Report is “Redefining What Good Looks Like” for talent acquisition and HR leaders across industries and company sizes. The first-year turnover metric is an important gauge of how effectively organizations manage to retain talent beyond the initial ramp-up period.
“As the last step in the recruitment process but the first step in retention, onboarding can be a liminal space. I have even heard it referred to as the “hot potato” moment between talent acquisition, HR Ops, and hiring managers, as the handoff takes place,” said Stephanie Manzelli, Employ’s Chief People Officer. “When first-year turnover rates decrease, it tells us a lot about what’s happening inside organizations as well as what’s happening out in the market, and right now, external pressures are definitely contributing to this change.”
Even with Great Stay being a factor, hiring trends remain cyclical, as Employ emphasizes throughout the Hiring Benchmarks Report, which provides actionable advice for navigating the unpredictable. Offering guidance for all stages of the recruiting process, the resource aims to help teams hire smarter, faster and with more confidence, despite market conditions.
Manzelli added, “We’ve seen it all over the last few years. The Great Resignation, quiet quitting, coffee badging, The Great Reset, and more. Behind each of these phrases are mass movements impacting millions of workers, making it critical that HR and talent leaders understand what is really happening and how to address these changes, even if it means more employees are staying. That is where the Hiring Benchmarks Report comes in as a guide.”
To start “Redefining What Good Looks Like,” download a copy of the 2026 Employ Hiring Benchmarks Report.
The Employ team will also host a webinar diving into the findings this Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ET. “Making Sense of Metrics: Turning Hiring Benchmarks into Actions” will feature Stephanie Manzelli, along with Theresa Mazzaro, Recruitment Manager at Fairfax Radiology Centers; Kim Stevens, Director, Talent Acquisition at Employ; and Erica Wallace, Talent Acquisition Manager at BambooHR. The panel will explore the real story behind the numbers and show how talent acquisition teams can move from reporting metrics to improving business outcomes.
