70+ Payroll & HR Statistics for People Leader’s in 2023

If you’re an HR professional or simply someone who’s interested in the world of work, you’re in luck. We’ve scoured the internet to bring you over 70 fascinating and often surprising statistics related to human resources (HR) and payroll. From the average amount of sick days an employee takes to the percentage of companies that offer flexible work arrangements, these stats cover a wide range of topics and are sure to spark some interesting conversations. 

So whether you’re looking to impress your colleagues with your knowledge of the latest HR trends or just want to satisfy your curiosity about the world of work, this article has got you covered. Let’s dive in and explore some of the most intriguing payroll and HR statistics out there.

01

Payroll

Payroll

Roughly 40% of small businesses pay an average of $845 a year in IRS penalties because of mismanaged payroll processes.

American Payroll Association

33% of employers make payroll errors costing billions of dollars annually.

Business2Community
About 22% of small business owners will use software or a third-party to help them with payroll, accounting, or inventory management.
Guidant Financial

There are 311,673 Payroll & Bookkeeping Services businesses in the US as of 2023, an increase of 1.2% from 2022.

IBISWorld
72% of employees find it difficult to meet financial obligations if their paychecks are delayed by a week.
National Automated Clearing House Association

In the United States (U.S.), payroll errors cost businesses an average of 1-8% of their total payroll each year.

American Payroll Association

Payroll fraud happens in 27% of all businesses.

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Graphics of people looking at salary and payroll

Payroll fraud is the number one source of accounting fraud and employee theft.

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Small businesses are more likely to outsource payroll services than large organizations.
Statista

15% of businesses with 2,500 or fewer employees fully outsource their payroll services.

Statista
12% of small businesses find it difficult to meet payroll obligations due to capital availability.
National Small Business Association

91% of payroll specialists utilize only one type of payroll system, while 9% utilize two or more systems.

Deloitte

90% of organizations use an online payroll self-service.

Deloitte
Human resources manager hiring employee or workers. HR managemen

The time to process payroll for some business owners adds up to 21 days over a year.

American City Business Journals

Two payroll errors can cause 49% of employees to start looking for a new job.

HRDive
Small businesses use tech to improve business performance: 63% use it for payroll management.
Fundbox

The most common payroll run is bi-weekly.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

63% of American employees live paycheck to paycheck.

CNBC

93% of employees receive paychecks via direct deposit.

American Payroll Association

90% of workers say their paycheck always arrives on time. 

American Payroll Association
Payroll outsourcing is expected to increase by 6% over the next four years.
Technavio

About 26 million companies (81%) have no employees, which means they have no payroll.

U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy)

Billions of payroll dollars are never reported to state governments due to improper reporting and employee misclassification.

National Employment Law Project
ROI-animated-image

On-demand pay reduces absenteeism by 44%, drops turnover by 40%, and increases job performance by 86%.

Clair)

60% of U.S. workers want daily access to earned wages.

CPAPA

54% of American workers are concerned that their paycheck won’t last until next payday.

CPAPA

56% of workers express they would stay longer at a job if they could get immediate access to their earned pay at no cost.

CPAPA
60% of small businesses have payroll cash outflows because of changes in employment.
JPMorgan Chase

Payroll for small employer businesses grew by 8.5% annually on average, less than one full-time employee each year.

JPMorgan Chase

61.8% of small business employers experienced unstable sustained gains and/or losses, spikes, dips, or spikes and dips related to payroll.

JPMorgan Chase
02

Human Resources

Human Resources

69% of employees likely stay with a company for three years if they enjoyed the onboarding experience.

Society for Human Resource Management

The average time-to-hire for a U.S. business is 23.8 days.

Glassdoor

The average cost per hire is nearly $4,700.

Society for Human Resource Management
Collage of graphics of financial icons

75% of hiring and talent managers use some form of applicant tracking or recruiting software.

Capterra
80% of payroll specialists utilize only one type of Time and Attendance system, while 20% utilize two or more systems.
Deloitte

The financial services industry has the fewest number of time and attendance systems, with only 9% of payroll specialists using two or more systems.

Deloitte

Around 17% of employees are actively disengaged at work.

Zippia

83% of organizations want to build a more people-centric culture.

LinkedIn Learning
94% of recruiters and hiring professionals say that using recruitment software has positively impacted their hiring process.
G2

Companies that focus on their culture enjoy a 72% lower attrition rate.

Gallup

53% of employers say they’re managing higher attrition than in previous years and expect it to continue to worsen.

McKinsey & Company

It’s estimated that all organizations have an HR-to-employee ratio of 2.57.

Society for Human Resource Management

77% of HR and L&D pros say their roles have become more cross-functional in the past year.

LinkedIn
graphic of people using a large life sized tablet

41% of organizations use diversity and inclusion (DE&I) programs to improve employee retention.

LinkedIn
89% of L&D experts agree that making sure employees have the skills they need is key to surviving the future of work.
LinkedIn

Around one-third of HR professionals say technology is the reason for their onboarding issues.

TechJury

A formal onboarding program can increase employee retention by 50%, and increase productivity by 62%.

Harvard Business Review

Employee retention is most important to businesses in 2023, with retention at 20%, recruiting at 14%, and company culture at 12%.

HRReporter

A mere 49% of companies invested in improving HR management.

Kenjo Blog

98% of HR professionals are burnt out.

Forbes

HR insights and data analytics take up 39% o the top 10 HR challenges today.

PwC

82% saved money from the benefits of core HR on cloud.

PwC

44% of HR leaders are unlikely to switch HR vendors.

PwC
graphic of people with checklists

87% of HR leaders agree that decisions about all people should be based on data and analytics.

Society for Human Resource Management
65% of small US businesses use HR software.
Capterra

80% of HR professionals think using HR technologies makes employees feel more positive about the company.

G2

By 2025, 47% of HR departments in the U.S. will invest in artificial intelligence (AI).

Zippia

Over the next few years, 60% of HR departments will invest in predictive analysis, 53% in process automation, and 47% in artificial intelligence.

Zippia

40% of HR leaders do not know what skills their workforce has.

Zippia

73% of employees want to leave their current job because there aren’t enough skill building and career mobility opportunities.

Society for Human Resource Management
03

Workforce

28% of the average American workweek is spent reading and responding to emails.
McKinsey Global Institute

The average amount of vacation time taken by American employees is 10.2 days per year.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

One of the most common reasons for employees being late for work in the United States is traffic, followed by oversleeping.

CareerBuilder

If employees were offered more benefits, 73% would stay with their current employer longer.

MetLife
graphic of people putting puzzle pieces together

77% of working Americans think retirement benefits are most important.

Society for Human Resource Management
38% of all employees, and 48% of Generation Z, don’t believe their current benefits adequately reduce their stress.
MetLife

Employees who like their employers’ time and location flexibility are 2X more likely to recommend their employer to others.

LinkedIn

34% of employees say they’re not satisfied with job benefits, up from 28% in 2021

MetLife

43% of surveyed hourly workers admit to exaggerating the amount of time they work during their shifts.

Software Advice

Email causes professionals to leak over $50,000 in revenue per year.

AffinityLive
If we moved from weekly to daily time sheet updates, that would save $52,000 per professional per year.
AffinityLive

Ready to make life easier?

We offer all the services you need to manage workforce complexities. Let us show you how.

TALK TO SALES