5 Must-Know Employee Referral Statistics (2025)

Employee referrals aren’t just another HR trend—it's the secret sauce of smart hiring.

Whether you’re aiming to fill roles faster, cut recruiting costs, or boost new‑hire retention, it all begins with a trusted endorsement.

Let’s dive in the latest employee referral statistics!

Key Employee Referral Statistics and Trends

• Only 6% of all job applications are submitted with referrals, yet they are responsible for 37% of all hires
• Job performance is 33% higher among referral hires compared to non-referred hires
• The majority of recruiters say that referral recruiting is both faster and cheaper

More statistics about: networking and job fair.

Only 6% of all job applications are submitted with referrals, yet they are responsible for 37% of all hires

We analyzed 15,312 applications submitted to our partner Salarship.

One insight stood out clearly: alghough only 6% of all job applications are submitted as referrals, these applications are responsible for 37% of all hires.

Applications with referrals are often perceived as more trustworthy and lower risk by hiring managers.

When a current employee vouches for a candidate, it not only signals a level of pre-vetting, but also shows that the applicant has already established some degree of connection within the company.

67% of recruiters say that referral recruiting is faster (Robert Half)

Another interesting statistic about referrals is that they make recruiters' jobs easier.

According to a survey published on LinkedIn and Robert Half, 67% of recruiters say that referral recruiting is faster than other recruiting methods.

On average, it takes 15 weeks (3.5 months) to fill a position, but referral significantly reduce the time spent on sourcing and initial screening.

In my opinion, hiring with referrals is really wise when you need to fill a position quickly.

$1,200 is the average employee referral bonus

We analyzed the data provided by our partner Salarship, it turns out that the average employee referral bonus is $1,200.

It might seem costly, but $1,200 is often far less than what companies spend on external recruiters or job boards to fill the same role.

There is also a great disparity depending on the sector of activity.

The tech sector leads the pack, with on average a referral bonus of $2,400 for top talent.

In contrast, sectors like education and hospitality, both of which offer referral bonuses averaging $500, operate on tighter budgets and lower salary structures.

The healthcare and financial sectors offer relatively high referral bonuses ($1,700 and $1,400 respectively), reflecting the need for specialized talent in these sectors.

The manufacturing sector offers moderate referral bonuses ($1,000) due to mixed skill requirements, while the retail sector's lower bonus ($700) reflects tighter margins and higher turnover.

51% of recruiters say that referral recruiting is also cheaper compared to other recruiting methods (Robert Half)

According to the same report published on Robert Half, 51% of recruiters admit that referral recruiting is also cheaper compared to other recruiting methods.

Referral recruiting reduces costs by leveraging employee networks instead of paying for advertising or agency fees.

Even when offering referral bonuses, these payments are typically much lower than traditional recruiting expenses, making referral recruiting an overall more cost-effective way to fill positions.

Referred candidates often stay longer and integrate better with the company culture, companies save on recurring hiring and training.

Job performance is 33% higher among referral hires compared to non-referred hires (ERIN)

According recent data published by the referral employee automation software ERIN, job performance is 33% higher among referral hires compared to non-referred hires.

Referral hires tend to do better because they come “pre‑vetted” by someone who already understands the job and the company culture, so they are less likely to end up with a skills mismatch.

They also feel more connected and supported from day one, boosting engagement and performance from the start.

I also know that the referring employee’s reputation is on the line, so there’s an extra sense of responsibility to help the new hire succeed—all of these factors add up to roughly a one‑third increase in performance.