- Employee confidence in job market dips
- Millennials most at risk to quit, while Gen Z workers most likely to stay
- Gender retention gap largest to date, with women most at risk to depart
ARLINGTON, Va., April 15, 2025 -- The latest Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index measures a slight increase (3.9 points) to 102.5 for the first quarter of 2025, signaling employees are more likely to stay in their jobs over the next six months. The Index also finds that as employee confidence in their employers and satisfaction with their current jobs rises, worker optimism about the external market wanes as economic conditions deteriorate.
The Employee Retention Index is key tool for businesses evaluating changes to their workforce amid economic headwinds.
"The Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index comes at an important moment for the U.S. economy and businesses," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. "We're now in an environment where caution has overtaken confidence, and many companies already are making tough decisions about their workforce."
"The Index data indicate that employees are more likely to stay put in the coming months, and there's a rising sense of unease among workers regarding their job prospects. While this is good news for employers facing chronic labor shortages, it's a tough situation for employers who now must reduce their labor costs. The Index is key tool for businesses evaluating changes to their workforce makeup amid these economic headwinds," Jezior said.
Looking across various age demographics, the Index found that Gen Z workers are least likely to leave their jobs, more so than ever before. Millennials, however, pose a retention risk. Notably, the gender retention gap continues to widen, with the largest gap measured to date at 19 points. This signals that it will be increasingly difficult to retain female workers, with women increasingly less confident about their compensation.
The Employee Retention Index follows two key U.S. economic reports, and the Index results are largely aligned with this new jobs data. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data found the number of employee quits in in February was little changed at 3.2 million but was down by 273,000 over the year. Meanwhile, the U.S Department of Labor reported earlier this month that the labor market picked up 228,000 jobs in March, a larger-than-expected increase in the face of new worries that tariffs, job cuts, and declining consumer confidence pose risks to the economy.
The Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index is a first-of-a-kind market indicator that tracks worker sentiment across four proven drivers of retention: organizational confidence, culture, compensation, and job market opportunity. The data for across the four drivers for the first quarter of 2025 is as follows:
- The Organizational Confidence Indicator measures how confident employees are in their organization's future and leadership. This indicator increased 2.7 points to 102.6. Gen Z and men feel the most confident in their organization while women feel the least confident.
- The Culture Indicator looks at employee sentiment about their workplace culture, connections, and whether they feel valued and recognized. This measure increased 2.6 points to 101.4, following a decline from the previous period. It continues to be the weakest indicator of the three internal-focused indicators, with women and Gen X feeling the worst about organizational culture.
- The Compensation Indicator measures how employees view their compensation, benefits, and ability to grow their compensation at their organization. This indicator increased 3.3 points to 102.3. This was the largest shift across the four indicators. Millennials were the only population to be less satisfied/optimistic about compensation (-10.8 pts). The gender compensation gap is at its widest level at 33.2 points, indicating that women continue to be substantially less satisfied with their compensation.
- The Job Market Opportunity Indicator measures how employees perceive external prospects for employment and job security in the near term. This indicator was the only one to dip, decreasing 2.4 points to 99.6, meaning workers are feeling less confident about the job market and their external opportunities. The indicator continues to experience the volatility seen throughout 2024 as compared to stability in 2023.
Read more about the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index findings.
Understanding employee sentiment at a deep level has evolved into a competitive asset. With this new proprietary market indicator, employers have forward-looking insights to help proactively implement strategies to manage their workforce. While the Eagle Hill Employee Index isn't a one-size-fits all for employers, organizations can use it to benchmark their organization and pinpoint their strengths and weakness. In doing so, employers can assess and make changes to ensure their workforce is motivated, engaged, and aligned with the organizational mission.
Each month, the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index measure shifts in workforce retention based upon ongoing employee opinion surveys on factors related to worker intentions to change jobs. As the Employee Retention Index increases, it signals an increase in retention in the next six months. As the Employee Retention Index decreases, it signals to employers that workers are more likely to leave their jobs, and organizations can expect more turnover in the next six months.
Results are released on a quarterly basis, including an annual summary report. Conducted by Ipsos, the Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index is a nationally representative sample of adults ages 18 and older who are employed full-time or part-time on a range of workforce topics. Survey data is collected on a monthly basis, which commenced in December 2022. The most recent data was collected from March 3 - 4, 2025.
Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is an award-winning business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Organizational Performance, Business Intelligence, Technology Enablement, Talent, and Change Management. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global nonprofits. Eagle Hill has offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Boston, MA, and Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.
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