Millennials Aren’t Bigger Job Hoppers Than Their Parents Were

Millennials aren’t actually job hopping all that frequently.

That’s according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center based on recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor. In January 2016, 63.4% of 18-35 year olds reported working at their current job for 13 months or more and 22% reported working at their current job for 5 years or more. Those percentages are similar to their counterparts in Generation X. In 2000, 59.9% of 18-35 year olds said they had stayed at their current gig for 13 months or more and 21.8% stayed for five years or more.

This data seems to contradict a previous report from Gallup that declared millennials as “the job-hopping generation.” It found that 60% of millennials are open to a new job opportunity at any point in time, making them the most likely of all employees to switch companies.

Pew’s analysis suggests that one of the reasons today’s millennials are likely to remain with their current employer is because of their high levels of education, which has been linked to longer tenure in the past. In 2016, 46% of women and 38% of men who ranged in age from 25 to 35 years old had at least a bachelor’s degree. In 2000, only 31% of men and 34% of women in that age bracket had a bachelor’s degree.

But Pew noted that the new statistics didn’t necessarily mean employers were totally happy at their current gig. “The longer tenure of college-educated Millennials compared with that of Gen X workers does not necessarily translate into higher wages or more job security,” the Pew analysis said. “They may be sticking with their current employers due to a dearth of opportunities to get a better job with a different employer.”

[Pew Research Center]