The Employee Turnover & Sick Time Statistics Survey, conducted from January to April 2025, gathered data from 138 organizations on turnover and sick time statistics for the calendar year 2024.

Turnover Rates Improve Amid a Tight Labor Market
Hawaii employers saw a meaningful decline in employee turnover last year. The overall turnover rate dropped to 15.4% in 2024, down 2.9 percentage points from 2023. Voluntary turnover decreased to 12.5% from 15.2%, while involuntary turnover edged down to 1.2%, and layoffs remained low at 0.2%.

These improvements came as the local job market tightened. Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell to 2.9% in March 2025, compared to 3.1% in January 2024. In contrast, the national unemployment rate stood at 4.2%. These conditions make employee retention a top priority, and the data suggest employer strategies are having an impact.

High-Turnover Industries in Hawaii
Several industries continue to face high turnover. Retail and Wholesale Trade again led the state with a 38.3% turnover rate, followed closely by Leisure and Hospitality, which surged to 37.5%, re-entering the top five for the first time since 2022.

Other high-turnover sectors included Social Services (24.5%), Finance/Other Financial Institutions (21.7%), and Finance/Banking (18.7%). The inclusion of two finance sectors in the top five points to growing retention challenges in fields that historically experienced lower turnover.

New Hire Turnover: First-Year Retention Challenges
Retention of new hires continues to be a challenge. While only 37.0% of organizations track new-hire turnover separately, those that do reported a 26.7% first-year turnover rate. This signals the need for stronger integration and support early in the employee lifecycle.

To address this, over half of employers have enhanced onboarding and orientation programs. Nearly as many are increasing investment in training and development for new hires. Around 40–45% are improving communication with new employees and offering coaching or mentoring support.

Broader Retention Strategies: Training, Pay, Communication
Across the board, organizations are deploying multiple strategies to reduce turnover. The most common in 2025:

57.2% are enhancing employee training and development
53.6% are reviewing compensation and benefits for competitiveness
51.4% are strengthening internal communications

Other approaches include expanding work-life balance options and conducting exit interviews. Together, these tactics contribute to the overall decline in turnover seen in 2024.

Stay Interviews: A Proactive Retention Trend
A growing trend among Hawaii employers is the use of “stay interviews”—proactive check-ins with current employees aimed at uncovering and resolving concerns before they lead to resignations.

While adoption is still limited, 15.2% of employers now conduct stay interviews, and another 21.0% are considering it. Among those currently using the tool, 47.7% hold them annually, while others schedule them bi-annually, quarterly, or as needed.

Most stay interviews are conducted by HR professionals rather than line managers. As retention strategies evolve, stay interviews may play a bigger role in preempting turnover and fostering long-term engagement.

Sick Leave Usage Increases
Survey data on paid sick leave show both a modest increase in allowances and a notable rise in usage. In 2024, employers provided an average of 13.0 sick days, up slightly from 12.9 the year before. However, the average used rose to 5.7 days, up from 4.5 days—a 1.2-day increase.

Despite the uptick, most employees still used less than half their allotted days. Sick leave usage across industries ranged from 1 to 9 days per employee. This may reflect a growing awareness of public health, along with more willingness to take time off when needed.

Stay Interviews: A Proactive Retention Trend
This valuable insight is made possible by the many HEC member organizations that participate in our annual surveys. Mahalo to everyone who contributed to the 2025 Employee Turnover & Sick Time Statistics Survey.

Help Build the Data: Participate in HEC Surveys
HEC conducts several key surveys throughout the year to support informed decision-making and provide local benchmarking data for Hawaii employers. Participation not only gives you access to comprehensive results but ensures the data reflects our unique market conditions.

Upcoming Surveys (2025 Schedule):

• Insurance Benefits Survey – May
• Information Technology Compensation Survey – May
• Professional, Administrative & Management (PAM) Survey – May
• Salary Adjustment Survey – June
• Legislative Update Survey – June
• Pay Rates Survey – July