A 200-person construction company loses about $4.0 million a year to employee turnover.
Last updated FreeNo signupFormula shown
This turnover cost calculator for construction starts from a turnover rate of 48.1% (BLS JOLTS, Construction, 2025) and an average pay of $83,500 a year (September 2025 to August 2026), and it works out what a year of turnover costs at a replacement cost of 50% of pay. Change any number to match your company.
BLS counts building construction, heavy and civil engineering construction, and the specialty trade contractors, such as electricians, plumbers and roofers.
Don't know it? Use our turnover rate calculator first.
Gallup estimates replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary. 50% is the low end of that range and a conservative place to start for a mixed team.
Estimated departures per year
96.2
Estimated cost per departure
$41,750
Estimated annual cost of turnover
$4,016,350
Potential annual savings
$250,500
if turnover drops by 3 percentage points
Your annual turnover rate of 48.1% matches the Construction average of 48.1%.
At the Construction average of 48.1%, a team of 200 would lose 96.2 people a year, and at 50% of a $83,500 salary that costs about $4,016,350, against $4,016,350 at your rate.
Averages are exits per 100 jobs over 2025, from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. See every industry, year by year.
200 people at 48.1% turnover lose 96.2 people a year, at $41,750 each.
- Departures a year
- 200 employees × 48.1% turnover
- 96.2
- Cost per departure
- $83,500 salary × 50% replacement cost
- $41,750
- Annual cost
- 96.2 departures × $41,750
- $4,016,350
- Saving from a 3-point cut
- 200 employees × 3% × $41,750
- $250,500
The replacement cost percentage holds everything from the job ad to the months a new hire takes to get up to speed.
Turnover costs a 50-person construction company about $1.0 million a year, a 200-person one about $4.0 million and a 1,000-person one about $20.1 million.
| Company size | People who leave a year | Cost of turnover a year |
|---|---|---|
| 50 people | 24.1 | $1,004,088 |
| 200 people | 96.2 | $4,016,350 |
| 1,000 people | 481 | $20,081,750 |
People who leave = employees × 48.1%. Cost of one departure = $83,500 pay × 50%. Cost of turnover = people who leave × cost of one departure, the same sum as the calculator above. The highlighted row is what the calculator opens with.
These three sizes use the same 48.1% rate and $83,500 pay. Your company is different, so put your own headcount, pay and rate in the calculator above, or start from the main employee turnover cost calculator.
The turnover rate in construction was 48.1% in 2025, against 39.7% for all US employers.
construction, 2015 to 2025
- Construction
- US average, all employers
The rate in construction was 64.9% in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, peaked at 69.4% in 2020 and was 48.1% in 2025. That is 8.4 points above the US average of 39.7%.
Every industry is in the turnover rate by industry table, year by year.
Most exits from jobs in construction are layoffs and discharges, at 25.0 of the 48.1 exits per 100 jobs in 2025.
BLS counts three kinds of exit. A quit is the employee's choice, a layoff or discharge is the employer's, and the rest, such as retirements and transfers, is the third kind. In construction, quits are 44% of exits, against 60% for all US employers. BLS counts the quits but does not ask why people quit.
construction, 2025
Quits
21.2
Layoffs and discharges
25.0
Other exits
1.9
Average pay in construction is $83,500 a year, which is 126% of the $66,500 average for all private employers (BLS series CEU2000000011 and CEU0500000011, September 2025 to August 2026).
A 5-point cut in turnover would save a 200-person construction company about $418,000 a year.
At $83,500 pay and a 50% replacement cost, one departure costs $41,750. A 5-point cut in turnover keeps 10 of 200 people a year, and 10 × $41,750 is $417,500. Move the "cut turnover by" slider in the calculator to try your own target.
The part of turnover an employer can still change is the quits: 21.2 of the 48.1 exits per 100 jobs in construction, against 25.0 layoffs and discharges, which the employer started.
Gallup found that 52% of employees who left voluntarily say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent it, and 51% say that in the three months before they left, nobody spoke with them about their job satisfaction or their future with the company.
The rate and the pay on this page come from public sources, and both are inputs you can change.
| Number | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover rate | 48.1% | BLS JOLTS, Construction, 2025, series JTU230000000000000TSR. Total separations per 100 jobs over 2025: the sum of the twelve monthly rates, which counts every kind of exit and reads like a company's own yearly turnover rate. |
| Average pay | $83,500 a year | BLS Current Employment Statistics, series CEU2000000011: the average weekly earnings of all employees, times 52 weeks, for September 2025 to August 2026 (the mean of the twelve months is $1,605.78 a week), to the nearest $100. BLS marks the latest month as preliminary. |
| Replacement cost | 50% of pay | Gallup, March 2019: replacing an employee costs one-half to two times annual salary. 50% is the low end of that range. |
| Company sizes | 50, 200, 1,000 | Chosen for comparison. The calculator opens at 200 people, and you can enter your own headcount. |
Three industries with a turnover rate near 48.1% each have a calculator page of their own.
- 48.0% turnoverTransportation, warehousing and utilities
- 45.2% turnoverRetail
- 55.3% turnoverProfessional and business services
The main calculator lists every industry. To see which of your own people are at risk, run the free flight risk check.
Here are four questions about the cost of turnover in construction, answered.
- How much does employee turnover cost in construction?
- At the 48.1% rate and $83,500 average pay, turnover costs a 50-person construction company about $1,004,088 a year, a 200-person one about $4,016,350 and a 1,000-person one about $20,081,750. That assumes each departure costs 50% of a year's pay, the low end of what Gallup found.
- What is the employee turnover rate in construction?
- It was 48.1% in 2025, against 39.7% for all US employers (BLS JOLTS, Construction, 2025). Total separations per 100 jobs over 2025: the sum of the twelve monthly rates, which counts every kind of exit and reads like a company's own yearly turnover rate.
- How does the calculator work out the cost?
- It multiplies the people who leave by the cost of replacing each one. For 200 people at 48.1%, that is 96.2 departures a year. At $83,500 pay and a 50% replacement cost, each costs $41,750, so the year costs $4,016,350.
- What pay does the calculator use for construction?
- $83,500 a year, which is the average weekly earnings of all employees, times 52 weeks, for September 2025 to August 2026 (BLS series CEU2000000011), to the nearest $100. Put your own average pay in the calculator for a closer figure.
Turnover is cheaper to prevent than to calculate.
TeamPredict flags resignation risk early from public LinkedIn signals, giving you lead time to retain your best people before they hand in notice.
Start 30-Day Free TrialNo charge today · Cancel anytime