Reference
Methodology
Source references, definitions and recorded dates for the benchmark data.
Policy
Raw vs. Derived
Every row in our dataset is tagged raw (published exactly as the source states it) or derived (computed by us from published source components, with the method disclosed). Of 257 data rows: 244 raw, 1 derived, 12 text-only source pointers or gap notes (no number republished).
| Example derived row | Method |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing (NACE C), EU27_2020 | NETTUR_MEUR / SAL_NR (Employees - number) × 1000 instead of the standard indicator NETTUR_EMP_TEUR, which divides net turnover by persons employed (EMP_NR) |
Definition traps
Read this before you compare numbers
Fixed methodology boxes — see /methodology for the full policy.
F1 · Definition trap
Annual average monthly rate ≠ internal annual turnover
BLS JOLTS annual-average rates divide the sum of the 12 monthly exit levels by the sum of the 12 monthly CES employment levels, then multiply by 100. This is a ratio of sums, not a simple arithmetic mean of monthly rates. An internal annual indicator using annual exit events divided by average monthly staffing is a different measure. Do not compare that internal annual percentage directly with the BLS figures.
F2 · Definition trap
Define which exits you count
JOLTS total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are voluntary separations initiated by employees, excluding retirements and transfers to other locations. BLS classifies those retirements and transfers as other separations. Specify which categories your internal total or voluntary-turnover measure includes before comparing definitions.
F3 · Definition trap
Absence denominators are system-specific
BLS (CPS, reference-week self-report), ONS (LFS-based, UK), Eurostat (lfsi_abt_q, LFS-based, EU), and SSB/DST (StatBank, register-based) each define “absence” and its denominator differently. They are never combined into one comparable table on this site — each system's figures are shown separately, with its own denominator stated. BLS absence rate counts workers with qualifying absences, whereas an internal absence-days share counts person-workdays. Those measures must not be compared directly.
F4 · Definition trap
Vacancies, openings, and offers are three different metrics
“Job openings” (a stock, measured at a point in time), “vacancies” (used loosely as a synonym in some national statistics), and “offers extended/accepted” (a recruiting-funnel flow metric) measure different things. The internal offer calculator uses accepted ÷ (accepted + candidate-declined) × 100, excluding pending offers. SmartRecruiters figures are reported separately; their exact denominator and status rules have not been verified. Neither is a vacancy-fill rate.
F5 · Definition trap
Internal mobility ≠ job-to-job movement
“Internal mobility” (moving to a new role inside the same employer) and “job-to-job flows” (published in some labor-market statistics as switching employers) are different phenomena measured by different instruments. No open, official, cross-industry internal-mobility benchmark was identified during sourcing — this site shows what vendor data exists (SmartRecruiters internal/referral hire shares) and states that gap explicitly.
Survey mechanics
JOLTS Benchmark Revisions & Size Classes
Annual benchmark revision: JOLTS estimates are re-benchmarked annually against Current Employment Statistics (CES), with a recalculation window reaching five years back. Earlier years' published figures can therefore be revised backward at each benchmark — a figure quoted from an older vintage may no longer match the current series. Compare year-over-year only within one vintage of the series database.
Establishment size classes: the establishment-size breakdown exists ONLY for Total Private in JOLTS — it is never published crossed with industry. hrref therefore never shows an industry+size combination as if it were an official BLS series.
License note
INE License Inconsistency (Spain)
INE's aviso legal — the authoritative license text — confirms CC BY 4.0 for statistical information where INE is the source. INE's own page footer, however, says CC BY-SA 4.0: an inconsistency on INE's side. hrref cites CC BY 4.0 per the aviso legal, records both versions in its source register, and follows INE's attribution requirements verbatim («Fuente: Sitio web del INE: www.ine.es», latest table update stated, no implied endorsement).
Denominators
What Each Metric Is Divided By
The denominator choice changes the number. We state it per metric rather than assuming one universal formula.
| Page | Denominator |
|---|---|
| Overall Turnover Rate | sum of the 12 monthly CES employment levels in the same industry/region; numerator: sum of the 12 monthly total separations levels (JOLTS annual average rate) |
| Voluntary Turnover (Quits) | sum of the 12 monthly CES employment levels in the same industry/region; numerator: sum of the 12 monthly quits levels (JOLTS annual average rate) |
| Voluntary Turnover (Quits) | sum of the 12 monthly CES employment levels in the same industry/region; numerator: sum of the 12 monthly layoffs and discharges levels (JOLTS annual average rate) |
| Absenteeism Rate | all full-time wage and salary workers in the relevant sector/segment in the reference week; numerator: workers with qualifying absences in that same sector/segment (BLS CPS definition; usually at least 35 hours per week, worked fewer than 35 for specified reasons) |
| Absenteeism Rate | ONS LFS-based sickness absence definition; 'official statistics in development' caveat |
| Absenteeism Rate | ONS LFS-based sickness absence definition |
| Absenteeism Rate | LFS survey: persons employed absent in the reference week — NOT an employer-reported sickness-absence rate |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments in the United States, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median hourly wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments in the United States, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 11; coverage is limited to logging and support activities for crop and animal production; self-employed workers are excluded |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 21, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 22, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 23, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sectors 31, 32, and 33, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 42, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sectors 44 and 45, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sectors 48 and 49, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 51, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 52, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 53, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 54, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 55, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 56, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 61, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 62, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 71, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 72, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS-covered establishments in NAICS sector 81, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers in OEWS sector 99 as designated by BLS; state and local government schools and hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service are excluded |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Software Developers in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Registered Nurses in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Accountants and Auditors in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Customer Service Representatives in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Human Resources Specialists in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified in SOC 41-4012 in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Financial and Investment Analysts in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Marketing Managers in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified in SOC 43-6014 in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified in SOC 53-7062 in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as General and Operations Managers in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | median annual wage of wage-and-salary workers classified as Data Scientists in OEWS-covered nonfarm establishments, excluding self-employed workers |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for civilian workers from June 2025 to June 2026; current dollars; not seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for civilian workers from June 2025 to June 2026; current dollars; not seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers from June 2025 to June 2026; current dollars; not seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for private industry workers from June 2025 to June 2026; current dollars; not seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for state and local government workers from June 2025 to June 2026; current dollars; not seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for state and local government workers from June 2025 to June 2026; current dollars; not seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for civilian workers from March 2026 to June 2026; seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for civilian workers from March 2026 to June 2026; seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers from March 2026 to June 2026; seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for private industry workers from March 2026 to June 2026; seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for state and local government workers from March 2026 to June 2026; seasonally adjusted |
| Median Pay & Wage Growth | percent change in the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for state and local government workers from March 2026 to June 2026; seasonally adjusted |
| Cost Per Hire | SHRM 2025 Benchmarking Survey, n=2,371, fieldwork Jan–Mar 2025 |
| Cost Per Hire | CIPD survey respondents: n=246 (senior) / n=207 (other) |
| Offer Acceptance Rate | Reported SmartRecruiters offer acceptance rate; exact denominator and status rules not verified. Not assumed to use the NACE resolved-offer formula. |
| Internal Mobility Rate | internal hires (respectively, referrals) as a share of all hires |
| Revenue Per Employee | net turnover / mean number of persons employed (Eurostat NETTUR_EMP_TEUR) |
| Revenue Per Employee | net turnover / number of employees (NETTUR_MEUR / SAL_NR); the standard indicator NETTUR_EMP_TEUR divides by persons employed (EMP_NR) |
| Time to Hire | Median recorded hiring duration in SmartRecruiters workflow data; exact start/end timestamp pair not verified by HRRef |
| Span of Control | direct reports per supervisor (Honolulu audit definition) |
| Job Openings Rate | job openings / (employment + job openings) x 100 (BLS JOLTS definition) |
| Job Openings Rate | hires / employment x 100 (BLS JOLTS definition) |
| Job Openings Rate | quits / employment x 100 (BLS JOLTS definition) |
Freshness
Update Cycles, By Source
Update cycle and the date shown for each source are listed below.
| Publisher | Dataset | Update cycle | Recorded date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashby | Ashby Offer Acceptance Rate benchmark — methodology landing page (230K+ applications 2021-2024) | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) | Resourcing and Talent Planning 2024 | annual | 2026-07-17 |
| City and County of Honolulu, Office of the City Auditor | Span of control audit (definition: direct reports per supervisor) | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| City of Portland | Span of Control Update (memo), April 2026 version | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| Culture Amp | Culture Amp Employee Engagement Benchmarks (All Industries, Retail, New Tech) — January 2026 vintage | quarterly | 2026-07-17 |
| Danmarks Statistik (DST) | DST StatBank absence tables LSK11/LSK12/LSK13/LSK14/LSK15 | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| Eurostat | Structural business statistics overview — sbs_ovw_act (NETTUR_EMP_TEUR / NETTUR_MEUR / EMP_NR / SAL_NR indicators) | annual | 2026-07-17 |
| Eurostat | LFS series — lfsi_abt_q (absence from work, quarterly, LFS-based) | quarterly | 2026-07-17 |
| Gallup | State of the Global Workplace 2026 Report (2025 data) | annual | 2026-07-17 |
| Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) | Encuesta Trimestral de Coste Laboral (ETCL) — tablas 6047/6048/6064 (puestos de trabajo vacantes) | quarterly | 2026-07-19 |
| Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) | Estadística de Flujos de Población Activa (EFPA) — tablas 66257/66262 (flujos entre situaciones de actividad) | quarterly | 2026-07-19 |
| LinkedIn Talent Solutions (cited via HR Dive / iCIMS) | LinkedIn Talent Blog, Feb 2024 — internal-mobility formulation (cited via secondary sources) | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| McKinsey & Company | Org design archetypes — span of control 3-5 (hierarchical) to 15+ (flat) direct reports | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) | Professional Standards for Early Talent Recruiting & University Relations, November 2024, printed p. 69: Acceptance metrics | unknown | 2026-10-13 |
| Office for National Statistics (UK) | Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2025 | annual | 2026-07-17 |
| SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) | 2025 Benchmarking Survey — Cost per Hire (press release) | annual | 2026-07-17 |
| SmartRecruiters (with Lighthouse Research & Advisory) | 2025 Hiring Benchmark Report / country articles (e.g. United States Benchmark Recruiting Metrics) | annual | 2026-07-17 |
| SmartRecruiters (with Lighthouse Research & Advisory) | Recruiting Benchmarks 2025 — original report, methodology and global Time to Hire | annual | 2026-10-13 |
| Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB) | SSB StatBank sickness-absence tables 12452 (sex + occupation) and 14341 (region + sex) | unknown | 2026-07-17 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | JOLTS Table 20. Annual average total separations rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted | annual | 2026-10-13 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | JOLTS Table 22. Annual average quits rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted | annual | 2026-10-13 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | JOLTS Table 24. Annual average layoffs and discharges rates by industry and region, not seasonally adjusted | annual | 2026-10-13 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Current Population Survey, Table 47. Absences from work of employed full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and industry | annual | 2026-10-13 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | JOLTS series database — Job Openings, Hires, and Quits rates, seasonally adjusted, by industry and establishment size class | monthly (annual benchmark revision against CES, 5-year recalculation) | 2026-07-19 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | May 2025 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates | annual | 2026-08-01 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Updates from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program | event_driven | 2026-09-14 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | May 2025 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates | annual | 2026-08-01 |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Table A. Major series of the Employment Cost Index [Percent change], June 2026 | quarterly | 2026-08-01 |