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An Annual Report on Classified Employee Turnover for Fiscal Year 2011

December 2011

Report Number 12-701

Overall Conclusion

The fiscal year 2011 statewide turnover rate was 16.8 percent for regular full- and part-time classified employees, based on 26,028 separations. This was a 15.1 percent increase from the fiscal year 2010 turnover rate of 14.6 percent. The fiscal year 2011 turnover rate was the highest turnover rate that the State has experienced since fiscal year 2008.

Voluntary separations accounted for the majority (70.4 percent) of the State's total separations in fiscal year 2011. Several factors have contributed or may have contributed to the 12.9 percent increase in voluntary separations since fiscal year 2010. Specifically:

- The number of employees retiring continued to increase. In fiscal year 2011, retirements increased 19.3 percent from fiscal year 2010. Over the past five fiscal years, retirements increased by 40.6 percent.

- There was a perceived lack of employment stability due to state budget cuts. Exit survey comments suggested that some state workers decided to find other employment because of perceived employment instability at their state agency.

- There was a reduced number of merit increases and one-time merit increases for state employees in fiscal year 2011. State agencies awarded 7,161 fewer merit increases and 4,142 fewer one-time merit increases in fiscal year 2011 than they awarded in fiscal year 2010; state agencies awarded 55.3 percent fewer merit and one-time merit increases in fiscal year 2011 than they awarded five years ago in fiscal year 2007. Better pay and benefits continues to be cited among the top reasons employees left employment with their agencies.

The remaining state separations (29.6 percent) were involuntary. There was an increase of 15.7 percent in involuntary separations since fiscal year 2010. This increase was primarily due to reductions in force, which had the largest percent change (596.0 percent).

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