FEATURES Sticking Around and Reasons to Leave
Sticking Around
Attrition remains low at most federal agencies, despite concerns that older workers will retire and younger ones aren't dedicated to government careers.
| 2004 ATTRITION RATE | |
|---|---|
| Treasury | 9.4% |
| Homeland Security | 7.5 |
| Veterans Affairs | 6.6 |
| Defense | 6.2 |
| Energy | 5.8 |
| Commerce | 5.7 |
| Education | 5.4 |
| Agriculture | 5.3 |
| Interior | 5.2 |
| HUD | 5.1 |
| HHS | 5.0 |
| State | 5.0 |
| Transportation | 4.3 |
| Labor | 3.3 |
| Justice | 3.2 |
Note: The attrition rate was calculated by dividing separations other than reductions-in-force, transfers, deaths, and end-of-term appointments by the total full-time permanent workforce at the beginning of fiscal 2004.
Source: Office of Personnel Management
Reasons to Leave
To hang on to employees, agencies attempt to address the main reasons they consider leaving. Here are the Top 10:
| Reason | % saying reason is important/very important |
|---|---|
| Better use of skills and abilities | 86% |
| Increase opportunities for advancement | 84 |
| Desire to earn more money | 76 |
| Improve opportunities for training | 64 |
| Lack of recognition | 62 |
| Desire for different work | 55 |
| Good job market | 51 |
| Too few people to handle the work | 51 |
| Inadequate equipment/supplies | 47 |
| Excessive job stress | 46 |
Source: Merit Systems Protection Board 2000 survey
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