This is a study of the turnover of carpenters in the building industry in Auckland and Wellington. The literature on labour turnover was critically reviewed, and a research rationale developed, focussing on turnover of building firms and tenure of carpenters, through extensive surveys of each. The extent, nature and personal characteristics of carpenters associated with tenure were investigated. Also studied were the cost of turnover to ,firms, and the financial implic­ ations of turnover for carpenters. Turnover was found to be moderately high, mostly voluntary and to vary greatly between firms. Organisational and other characteristics of firms were found to relate to turnover, but were not always stable across firms of different sizes and undertaking different types of work. Several personal characteristics of carpenters were found to relate to tenure. While the cost of turnover varied greatly between firms, most carpenters lost no working time in changing jobs, and most increased their income as a result of the job change. The research findings and related methodological and conceptual issues are discussed.