{
  "id": "R44683",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44683",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 456957,
      "date": "2016-11-09",
      "retrieved": "2016-11-21T15:09:36.217012",
      "title": "Staff Tenure in Selected Positions in House Committees, 2006-2016",
      "summary": "The length of time a congressional staff member spends employed in a particular position in Congress\u2014or congressional staff tenure\u2014is a source of recurring interest to Members, staff, and the public. A congressional office, for example, may seek this information to assess its human resources capabilities, or for guidance in how frequently staffing changes might be expected for various positions. Congressional staff may seek this type of information to evaluate and approach their own individual career trajectories. This report presents a number of statistical measures regarding the length of time House committee staff stay in particular job positions. It is designed to facilitate the consideration of tenure from a number of perspectives.\nThis report provides tenure data for a selection of 13 staff position titles that are typically used in House committee offices, and information on how to use those data for different purposes. The positions include Chief Clerk, Chief Counsel, Communications Director, Counsel, Deputy Staff Director, Minority Professional Staff Member, Minority Staff Director, Press Secretary, Professional Staff Member, Senior Professional Staff Member, Staff Assistant, Staff Director, and Subcommittee Staff Director. House committee staff tenure data were calculated as of March 31, for each year between 2006 and 2016, for all staff in each position. An overview table provides staff tenure for selected positions for 2016, including summary statistics and information on whether the time staff stayed in a position increased, was unchanged, or decreased between 2006 and 2016. Other tables provide detailed tenure data and visualizations for each position title.\nBetween 2006 and 2016, staff tenure, based on the trend of the median number of years in the position, appears to have increased by six months or more for staff in nine position titles in House committees. The median tenure was unchanged for four positions. These findings may be consistent with overall workforce trends in the United States.\nPay may be one of many factors that affect an individual\u2019s decision to remain in or leave a particular job. House committee staff holding positions that are generally lower-paid typically remained in those roles for shorter periods of time than those in generally higher-paying positions. Lower-paying positions may also be considered entry-level roles; if so, tenure for House committee employees in these roles appears to follow national trends for other entry-level jobs, which individuals hold for a relatively short period of time. Those in more senior positions, where a particular level of congressional or other professional experience is often required, typically remained in those roles comparatively longer, similar to those in more senior positions in the general workforce.\nGeneralizations about staff tenure are limited in some ways, because each House committee serves as its own hiring authority. Variations from office to office, which might include differences in job duties, work schedules, office emphases, and other factors, may limit the extent to which data provided here might match tenure in another office. Direct comparisons of congressional employment to the general labor market may have similar limitations. Change in committee leadership, for example, may cause staff tenure periods to end abruptly and unexpectedly. \nThis report is one of a number of CRS products on congressional staff. Others include CRS Report R43947, House of Representatives Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2016, by Lara E. Chausow, R. Eric Petersen, and Amber Hope Wilhelm and CRS Report R44322, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Committees, 2001-2014, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44683",
          "sha1": "bab5a6bc97201af3cb90f61bb2ace9461a0e4686",
          "filename": "files/20161109_R44683_bab5a6bc97201af3cb90f61bb2ace9461a0e4686.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44683",
          "sha1": "9e2d67cb2dcf8fe4dd9fea77a68fedd5999c5cb0",
          "filename": "files/20161109_R44683_9e2d67cb2dcf8fe4dd9fea77a68fedd5999c5cb0.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law"
  ]
}