BambooHR
Workforce Insights
Monthly Report – January 2025
Welcome to the January edition of the BambooHR Workforce Insights report, where we dive into the latest trends shaping the world of employment.
Workforce Insights is powered by aggregated data trends from the millions of admins, managers, and employees who use BambooHR in the US and across the globe.
Turnover Drops to 2020 Levels Across the Globe
- Hires and job openings have spiked globally since December, along with decreased turnover rates.
- In the US, turnover has dropped to 2020 levels, while hiring and job openings are on the rise across most industries.
- Review trends have stabilized globally, with the US returning to normalcy after the end-of-year review period.
- January PTO requests have decreased worldwide, mirroring the typical start-of-the-year decline seen in the US.
- Construction and education sectors continue to see the highest PTO approvals, despite having fewer requests.
- Middle East/Africa and Latin America report the lowest PTO requests, highlighting regional differences in PTO trends.
BambooHR’s platform data, sourced from over 4.86 million employee data points across the world, provides a global perspective on these evolving trends and offers valuable insights for organizations aiming to foster a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.
Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
In January 2025, there was a notable increase in both hiring and job openings globally, with turnover dropping to levels last seen in 2020.
Hiring
- In the US:
- 32% increase in hiring from December 2024 to January 2025.
- 23% decrease in hiring year-over-year from January 2024.
- Globally:
- 42% increase in hiring from December 2024 to January 2025.
- 27% decrease in hiring year-over-year from January 2024.
Job Openings
- In the US:
- 41% increase in job openings from December 2024 to January 2025.
- 8% increase in job openings year-over-year from January 2024.
- Globally:
- 45% increase in job openings from December 2024 to January 2025.
- 10% increase in job openings year-over-year from January 2024.
Turnover
- In the US:
- 16% decrease in turnover from December 2024 to January 2025.
- 29% decrease in turnover year-over-year from January 2024.
- Globally:
- 25% decrease in turnover from December 2024 to January 2025.
- 31% decrease in turnover year-over-year from January 2024.
Month over Month (MoM),
Year over Year (YoY)
Industry Trends: Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
- All industries saw an increase in hiring and job openings from December to January, which is expected at the start of a new year.
- The construction and healthcare sectors had the highest proportions of hires, followed by finance.
- The nonprofit sector had the highest proportion of job openings, followed closely by the healthcare and travel/hospitality sectors.
- The restaurant, food & beverage industry had the lowest proportion of job openings.
- The education industry saw the greatest increase in hires of all industries—75%—from December 2024.
- The construction industry saw the greatest increase in job openings of 64% from December 2024.
January 2025
Proportion of Total Employees
Regional Trends: Hiring, Job Openings & Turnover
- North America and Latin America tied for the highest proportion of hires and turnover.
- Europe and Asia Pacific had the lowest proportion of job openings.
- The Middle East/Africa had the lowest turnover among all regions.
Manager & Peer Reviews
- In the US, peer reviews dipped as expected after December’s high, decreasing by 15% month-over-month and 21% year-over-year. Manager reviews, on the other hand, increased by 11% month-over-month and a negligible .01% year-over-year.
- Overall, the combined peer and manager reviews in the US decreased by 10% month-over-month and 17% year-over-year.
- Globally, peer reviews stabilized, with a 13% decrease month-over-month and a 19% decrease year-over-year. Manager reviews saw a 16% increase month-over-month and 6% decrease year-over-year.
- The overall trend in reviews decreased by 8% month-over-month and 16% year-over-year globally.
Month over Month (MoM),
Year over Year (YoY)
Employee PTO Requests & Approvals
PTO requests and approvals continued to decrease in January.
US PTO:
- The proportion of employees requesting PTO dropped by 18% year-over-year and 17% month-over-month. Approvals decreased by 15% year-over-year and 16% month-over-month. In January 2025, US PTO requests were at 33%, with approvals at 16%, which is lower than global trends, only having 46% of requests approved.
Global PTO:
- The proportion of total employees requesting PTO dropped by 25% year-over-year and 13% month-over-month. Approvals decreased by 16% year-over-year and 14% month-over-month. In January 2025, global PTO requests were at 39%, with approvals at 18%, only having 48% of requests approved.
Regional Trends: Employee PTO Requests & Approvals
In January 2025, regional PTO requests and approvals continued to show distinct patterns:
- Europe: Similar to last month, January also saw the highest percentage of PTO requests (64%) but the lowest approval (40%).
- Asia Pacific: Saw 33% of employees requesting PTO, with an approval of 50%.
- Middle East/Africa: Had the second highest PTO approvals at 57%, with only 31% PTO requested.
- North America: Saw 35% of PTO requested, and was the region with the second lowest for approvals (48%).
- Latin America: Had the highest percentage of approvals at 65%, and the lowest percentage requested at 26%.
Industry Trends: Employee PTO Requests & Approvals
- Finance and nonprofit saw the highest PTO requests, despite having lower proportions of PTO approvals.
- The healthcare industry had the lowest approvals at 38%, the only industry to fall below 40%.
- As we typically see, the travel/hospitality and restaurant, food, and beverage industries had the lowest PTO requested.
- Construction had the highest PTO approved—the only industry to have over 50%.
Methodology
All source data is from the BambooHR® platform, gathered between January 2018 and January 2025, and includes over 4.86 million employee data points across the globe.
The data includes employee and manager performance scores, PTO requests, and other data points that have been analyzed in an aggregated, anonymized way to protect the privacy of employees and the integrity of the metrics.
Turnover includes all types of separation of an employee from their company, including voluntary and involuntary separations.
About BambooHR
BambooHR® is the leading HR software solution that sets people free to do great work by managing the complex work of supporting employees and succeeding as a business, while giving leaders all the data they need to make informed strategic decisions.
Intuitively designed and easy-to-use benefits administration, payroll, performance, time tracking, and reporting where everything works together means less focus on process and more focus on growing what matters most—people.
Over the past 15 years, BambooHR has been the trusted partner of HR professionals at 33 thousand companies with employees in over 190 countries and 50 industries, supporting millions of users throughout their employee experience.
Looking for More HR Data Insights? Keep Reading
Holiday Blues: Q4 Sees Unexpected Slump in Employee Happiness
Read the Q4 2024 report to see the latest in employee satisfaction across industries.
Compensation Trends for 2025: Deflation, Transparency, and Benefits
Salary raises decreased for the second year in a row, and employees aren’t happy about it—especially women and Baby Boomers. Click below to read the full report.
The New Surveillance Era: Visibility Beats Productivity for RTO & Remote
What exactly is the Green Status Effect, and who are more productive, remote or in-office workers? Check out the 2024 report to find out.