Insurance has some of the lowest turnover in the U.S. economy. In 2025, workers in finance and insurance quit at an average of 1.3% of employment per month, compared with 2.0% across all jobs and 4.2% in hotels and restaurants (the BLS accommodation and food services sector), according to BLS annual average quits data by industry. Insurance workers also stay with one employer longer than most, as the tenure figures below show.
Turnover by Industry: Which Sectors Have the Highest Turnover Rates
The best public source for turnover rates by industry is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Its annual figures are averages: each one shows the share of employees who left or were hired in a typical month of the year, not a yearly total. BLS does not publish a single annual turnover percentage per industry in these tables.
2025 annual average monthly rates (percent of employment, not seasonally adjusted)
| BLS industry | Quits | Total separations | Hires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| All U.S. jobs | 2.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Total private | 2.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Construction | 1.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Retail trade | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 3.9 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| Hotels and restaurants | 4.2 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Government | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
Sources: the quits source above, separations by industry, 2025 and hiring by industry, 2025.
Measured by the average total separations rate, which counts everyone who left for any reason, the industry with the highest turnover rate in 2025 was arts, entertainment, and recreation at 6.1% a month. Measured by quits alone, hotels and restaurants led at 4.2%. These are industries with high employee turnover where many seasonal, part-time, and frontline employees work.
The latest monthly numbers. The pattern held in September 2026. Preliminary September 2026 quits figures show a quits rate of 0.9% in finance and insurance versus 2.1% for all jobs (seasonally adjusted). Finance and insurance separations were 1.7% that month against 3.3% overall, per the September 2026 separations table. Layoffs and discharges in the sector were 0.6% against 1.0% overall, per the September 2026 layoffs table. One number is more mixed: the September 2026 job openings table shows a job openings rate of 4.2% in finance and insurance, up from 3.7% in September 2025 but below the 4.5% for all jobs. Fewer people are leaving, and openings are higher than a year ago, which matters when you do lose a trained person.
Tenure confirms it. The BLS tenure table by industry puts median tenure in insurance at 5.3 years in January 2026, against 4.1 years for all workers and 2.4 years in hospitality. The January 2026 tenure summary adds that private-sector workers had a median of 3.9 years.
What the data cannot tell you. No official source publishes a turnover figure for insurance agencies alone, for producers, or for the customer service representative role. The BLS "finance and insurance" sector is the closest proxy, and it also includes banks, lenders, and investment firms. Treat it as a reference point for your own turnover benchmarks, not a target.
What the Numbers Mean for Agencies, and What to Do
The national average turnover rate by industry hides what happens inside one office. Smaller employers move differently: in September 2026 (preliminary), quits by establishment size were 2.2% at private employers with 1 to 9 employees and 2.6% at those with 10 to 49. In a small agency, one departure can mean lost client history, unfinished renewals, and knowledge loss that no average captures.
Each departure also carries turnover costs: replacement costs such as recruiting and training time, plus the work coworkers absorb. Our post on the high costs of turnover walks through them. You can estimate a cost per resignation for your own agency from those pieces rather than borrowing a generic figure.
Practical steps for agency owners and HR professionals:
- Track your own numbers monthly. Record quits and other exits by role, and watch first-year turnover separately, since early exits often point to hiring or onboarding gaps.
- Hire for the job's skills. Skills-based hiring checks for the abilities a role needs, such as system skills and coverage knowledge, before making an offer.
- Build onboarding that holds. A structured new hire onboarding checklist gives new staff a clear first 90 days.
- Watch workload and manager quality. Uneven books and unclear expectations feed employee burnout; see these ways to help employees avoid job burnout.
- Offer a path forward. Internal mobility, such as a CSR growing into an account manager role, gives people a reason to stay.
- Plan for absences. Workforce planning means knowing who covers each book if someone leaves. Work flexibility and work-life balance also belong in that conversation.
Training also plays a part. Total CSR is an insurance agency training and development platform that helps agencies hire, assess, train, and support their staff. Its Retain microlearning product provides daily reinforcement that keeps coverage knowledge sharp after training, helping teams retain what they learned even as people change.
Start with your own data: count last year's departures by role, compare the pattern with the turnover trends above, then choose from these employee retention strategies and ways agencies use culture to fight turnover.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Normal Turnover Rate for an Insurance Agency?
No official figure exists for agencies. The closest public benchmark is the BLS finance and insurance sector, where quits and separations ran well below the all-industry average in 2025. That sector includes banks and investment firms, so compare your agency against its own history first, role by role.
What Does a Healthy Turnover Rate Look Like for a CSR Team?
A healthy turnover rate lets you replace people without losing clients or overloading the rest of the team. Some departures are normal, such as retirements or promotions. Warning signs include repeated exits from one desk, several people leaving within their first year, or the same reason coming up in exit conversations.
Why Do Insurance Workers Stay Longer Than Workers in Other Industries?
BLS data shows longer stays but doesn't explain why. In January 2026, median tenure in insurance was well above the median for all workers and more than double the hospitality figure. Licensing, carrier knowledge, and client relationships take time to build, which may encourage people to stay.
How Is Turnover Measured in the BLS Data?
JOLTS counts monthly hires and separations reported by employers. Separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other exits such as retirements. The hires rate and the other rates are shares of employment. The 2025 annual figures are averages of monthly results, so a 2.1% figure means about 2.1% of employees left in a typical month.
How Can an Agency Calculate Its Own Turnover?
Divide the number of employees who left during a period by your average headcount for that period, then multiply by 100. Use the same period each time. For annual turnover, count all departures over twelve months against the average number of employees. Separate voluntary quits from terminations and retirements so you can see which part needs attention.