The Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index
July 2025 release
Uncover emerging trends. Anticipate shifts in retention. Keep your best people.
Workforce signals retention stability, market uncertainty deepens
U.S. employee sentiment held relatively steady, with the Employee Retention Index inching upward by 0.4 points to 102.9. This modest gain signals that employees are more likely to remain in their roles over the next six months.
The Retention Index continues its upward trend since the fourth quarter of 2024 (98.5), yet it remains below its peak in the second quarter of 2024 (105.1), reflecting that workforce sentiment is on less solid ground than it was this time last year.
Most striking this period is the sharp decline in employees’ perceptions of the external job market. The Market Opportunity Indicator dropped by 4.4 points, the steepest decline since the Index’s inception in 2023, and now sits at its lowest recorded level. This reflects a growing sense of pessimism employees hold about employment opportunities outside of their current organizations. Across the four indicators—Culture, Compensation, Organizational Confidence, and Job Market Opportunity—market sentiment not only experienced the greatest loss but is now the lowest-ranking sentiment influencing employees’ intent to stay or leave their current roles.
Only the Compensation Indicator increased this quarter (1.1 points), a possible indication that as employees grow more weary of the job market, they are finding their current compensation and benefits more attractive. The Organizational Confidence and Culture Indicators both saw slight declines (1.1 and 0.7 points, respectively), reinforcing the idea that while internal organizational experiences shape employee decisions to stay or leave, external pressures are becoming more significant.
Latest retention indicators
+0.4
Employee Retention Index
-1.1
Organizational Confidence
-0.7
Culture
+1.1
Compensation
-4.4
Job Market Opportunity
Latest retention index by demographic
105.7
Gen Z
105.3
Millennials
101.9
Gen X
98.6
Baby Boomers
Key employee retention insights: market outlook & Gen Z in focus
The Employee Retention Index signals the employees most likely to stay in their current roles in the coming six months include Gen Z (Retention Index of 105.7) and men (109.3). Meanwhile, the groups most inclined to leave their jobs will be Baby Boomers (98.6) and women (95.5).
Job market outlook: a notable decline in workforce sentiment
The Job Market Opportunity Indicator’s 4.4 point plunge is more than just a data point—it marks the first time this indicator has declined for two consecutive periods, and it now sits at its lowest point (95.2). This significant drop is echoed across almost every demographic, with Baby Boomers experiencing the most significant fall (-11.2 points), followed by men (-7.2). Only one workforce demographic, women, reports even a marginal increase (0.2 points) in the Job Market Opportunity Indicator.
This convergence highlights that confidence in outside opportunities is dwindling for nearly all U.S. workers as uncertainty looms around the broader economic outlook and trends like AI and automation.
Organizations should interpret this drop in market confidence as a window of opportunity: while employees may feel less inclined to leave their current roles, they may also be more open to new internal opportunities.
Gen Z: stabilizers signal potential attrition risk
For the second consecutive period, Gen Z has emerged as a bright force in employee retention. Gen Z continues to hold the highest Retention Index this quarter at 105.7, signaling they are the generation most likely to stay in their roles in the coming six months. For the second consecutive period, they have more confidence in their organizations’ futures (Organizational Confidence Indicator, 107.1) and are more satisfied with the compensation elements of their jobs (Compensation Indicator, 118.9), relative to other generations.
While Gen Z workers are more likely to stay in their current roles compared to other generations in the workforce, they are not necessarily more engaged. The Gen Z Retention Index declined more significantly than their older peers, falling 6.3 points. Additionally, Gen Z’s positive sentiment decreased across all four indicators. Notably, they trail all generations in their opinions of their organization’s culture with a Culture Indicator score of 97.9. Their Organizational Confidence Indicator declined more than double that of any other generation, by 10.4 points.
Gen Z also reports the strongest Job Market Opportunity Indicator (101.3), reflective of their more optimistic view of the external market and ability to find jobs elsewhere.
Gen Z’s strong retention outlook continues this period, but these declines hint at sentiments employers would be wise to heed. And as the cohort most opportunistic about external opportunities, the time is now.
How employers can act now
Melissa Jezior
President & CEO
“Now is not the time to assume stability means satisfaction. With market uncertainty rising, employees are holding tight—but that doesn’t mean they’re staying engaged. Employee sentiment of culture and confidence are slipping again. Organizations need to make staying feel like a choice, not a default.”
Track. Assess. React.
The first of its kind, the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index tracks quarterly sentiment of U.S. workers across four proven drivers of employee retention, which compose the Index’s indicators:
- Organizational Confidence: measures how confident employees are in their organization’s future and their organization’s leadership.
- Culture: measures how employees feel about their workplace culture, connections, feeling valued and recognized.
- Compensation: measures how employees view their compensation, benefits, and ability to grow their compensation at their organization.
- Job Market Opportunity: measures how employees perceive external prospects for employment and job security in the near term.
As the Employee Retention Index increases, it signals an increase in workforce retention in the next six months. As the Index decreases, it warns employers that workers are more likely to leave their jobs, and organizations can expect more turnover in the months ahead.
Methodology
The Index is based on a monthly omnibus survey conducted by IPSOS of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults employed full or part time. Quarterly indices and reports are issued based on a minimum of 1,200 aggregated responses per quarter. Respondents are polled on a range of workforce topics including organizational confidence, culture, compensation, and job market opportunity.
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