Men Job Hopping More Often

March 10, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Men in the US are job hopping more often than they used to and are now less likely to hang onto a position longer than women, according to a new study.

The research, by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), found that while the median tenure for men was still higher than that for women in 2002, the spread between the genders among younger workers narrowed significantly between 1983 and 2002. According to EBRI,  the median tenure for workers over 25 is now 4.4 years for women – up from 4.2 years in 1983 – and 4.9 years for men – down from 5.9 years in 1983. For all workers in this age group, median job tenure declined from five years to 4.7 between 1983 and 2002.

Among the report’s other findings:

  • Among men 55 to 64 years old, median tenure has risen slightly over the past half century, going from 9.3 years in 1951 to 10.2 years in 2002. Median tenure increased for workers in all age categories during this period.
  • Government workers tended to hang onto their jobs for much longer than those employed in the private sector. In 2002 the median tenure for public sector workers over 20 was nearly seven years, nearly double the 3.6-year median reported for private sector workers.
  • The proportion of male workers with more than ten years on the job has dropped in every category, but more than half (56.9%) of men between 50 and 59 were in this group. The percentage of women in each age bracket with more than 10 years of service lagged behind men of comparable age. Women between 45 and 49 years old comprised the sole group where the proportion with such long service increased.

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