"Part of the downturn is attributable to the programs that human resources officers at apartment companies have in place to attract individuals for a good fit with the companies that they run," NMHC's Jay Harris tells GlobeSt.com. "The screening programs that companies use are something that apartment human resources officers have spent a lot of time on in the last year or two, and it appears that the lower turnover rates are evidence that those screening and employee sourcing programs are starting to pay dividends."

While employee retention is on the rise in the apartment business, compensation is not. The survey found that the projected merit increase in 2002-2003 for industry executives will be 3.9%, as opposed to the 5% jump in 2001, and for non-executives there will be about a 3.55% increase instead of the 3.7%-4.0% increase seen the previous year.