One hundred forty-five (145) organizations provided data on turnover and sick time statistics for the calendar year 2020.
Impacts of COVID-19
Over one-third of participants (34.5%) reported that their staffing levels have been impacted due to COVID-19. Of the fifty organizations reporting an impact on employee count, most (82.0%) reported a decrease in their employee count, while (16.0%) reported an increase in employee count. Of those experiencing an increase in employee count, most were in the healthcare or social services industry.
Participants were requested to share if their workforce was affected by layoffs (full termination on a permanent basis) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the participants, (77.9%) reported that they did not permanently downsize the workforce via layoffs. Similar results were provided for temporary downsizing via furloughs (reducing hours and pay to zero, but with the intention of bringing back employees at pre-furlough pay and schedules). The majority of participants (81.9%) reported they did not have furloughs.
New Hire Turnover
New hire turnover refers to the number of employees who leave an organization within their first year on the job. Although, slightly below one-third of participating organizations (31.0%) track new hire turnover separately, all of the one hundred forty-five participants provided new hire turnover statistics. The three industries with the highest new hire turnover rates are, Finance / Other Financial Institutions (37.3%), Professional / Business Services (33.3%), and Social Services (33.2%).
Overall Annual Turnover Rates
The overall turnover rate for all industries calculated at 16.2% for the calendar year 2020 which represents a 2.0% decrease over last year. The separations, not including layoffs, calculated at 14.2% which is down 3.6% from last year. This may have been due to employee’s seeking to “shelter in place” during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent article in the May 17, 2021 issue of the Pacific Business News, reported the possibility of a “Turnover Tsunami” as 26.0% of workers in the finance and insurance industry reported plans to find another job when the pandemic subsides.
|
Calendar Year |
Overall Turnover Rate |
Separations No Layoffs |
Voluntary Turnover Rate * |
Involuntary Turnover Rate* |
Layoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2020 |
16.2% |
14.2% |
11.2% |
1.6% |
2.0% |
*Voluntary and Involuntary Turnover Rates are provided by participating organizations that track voluntary and involuntary turnover separately.
Highest Turnover by Industry
The two industries that have been part of the top five industries experiencing high levels of turnover for three years in a row are Retail / Wholesale Trade and Social Services. Leisure / Hospitality Service and Natural Resources / Agriculture were within the top two last year but did not have sufficient data this year. Other industries not elsewhere classified has the top spot this year. Industries experiencing the highest level of turnover for the past three calendar years are noted below in order of highest to lowest:
|
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
|---|---|---|
|
Other, not elsewhere classified 62.2% |
Natural Resources / Agriculture 31.8% |
Leisure / Hospitality Services 38.2% |
|
Retail / Wholesale Trade 33.3% |
Leisure / Hospitality Services 31.4% |
Social Services 33.5% |
|
Social Services 26.6% |
Retail / Wholesale Trade 26.2% |
Retail / Wholesale Trade 27.4% |
|
Professional / Business Services 21.8% |
Social Services 25.7% |
Professional / Business Services 20.1% |
|
Finance / Other Financial Institutions 16.4% |
Finance / Banking 21.1% |
Finance / Other Financial Institutions 18.6% |
Turnover & Unemployment
On April 15, 2021, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced Hawaii’s annual unemployment rate was at 9.0% for March, which has decreased from 21.9% in April and May of last year. As a reference point, the National US Unemployment rate was reported at 6.0% for March 2021. It should be noted that HEC’s 2021 Employee Turnover & Sick Time Statistics Survey did not have sufficient participation from the restaurant, car rental, hotel or airline industries, all of which have contributed significantly to the State of Hawaii’s unemployment rate.
| Calendar Year | Overall Turnover Rate | Hawaii Unemployment March |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9.0% | |
| 2020 | 16.2% | 21.9% April/May 2020 2.1% March 2020 |
SICK TIME STATISTICS – SURVEY SUMMARY HIGHLIGHTS
Sick Time Statistics
The average number of sick days provided has remained the same as last year at 12.3 days. Surprisingly, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of sick days used increased only slightly by (.2%), averaging at 4.7 days.
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
Since April 1, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) has required covered employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for certain specified reasons related to COVID-19. Mandatory FFCRA leave expired on December 31, 2020 and is optional through March 31, 2021. Of the one hundred nine organizations covered by FFCRA, nearly one-half (49.5%) are providing paid expanded family and medical leave in 2021.
HEC conducts a variety of compensation and benefits surveys to provide data useful in developing and administering compensation and benefit plans, and personnel policies. Custom snapshots and comparison reports from our compensation surveys are available, along with customized, proprietary surveys conducted on your behalf. Our Survey & Compensation experts can also work with members on employee opinion surveys to identify gaps between being an employer of choice and being merely an employer. For more information, please contact Dawn Mitchell, Manager, Survey & Compensation Services (dmitchell@hecouncil.org), or Susan Amuro, Survey & Compensation Analyst (samuro@hecouncil.org).