72% of US workers say it's a bad time to find a job

According to a Gallup survey released this week, lone 28% of U.S. workers rated the 4th fourth of 2025 arsenic a bully clip to question a prime occupation — little than fractional the 70% who said the aforesaid successful mid-2022. Gallup described the 42-point plaything arsenic the steepest erosion successful occupation marketplace assurance it has measured implicit the past 4 years.

The survey of 22,368 full- and part-time workers was conducted Oct. 30 done Nov. 13, 2025, with a borderline of sampling mistake of positive oregon minus 1 percent point.

The survey besides recorded, for the archetypal clip successful Gallup's past of measuring workforce wellbeing, that struggling workers (49%) present outnumber those considered thriving (46%). Employee engagement, astatine 31%, reached its lowest recorded constituent successful Gallup's decennary of tracking the metric.

Gallup recovered 51% of the workforce was astatine immoderate signifier of job-seeking — either actively pursuing caller roles oregon passively monitoring the marketplace — portion 43% said leaving their existent relation would beryllium excessively hard oregon costly. Among those actively searching, 49% said the process was negative. Most radical who applied for jobs successful the past 30 days had not been invited to immoderate interviews.

College-educated workers showed the sharpest pessimism — a marked departure from the erstwhile inclination successful which grade holders had consistently viewed occupation marketplace conditions much favorably than those without assemblage credentials. Degree holders proved the astir downbeat of immoderate acquisition group, with conscionable 19% saying the occupation marketplace was favorable by precocious 2025 — compared with 35% of workers who ne'er attended college. The Associated Press tied that spread to 2 years of anemic hiring crossed white-collar fields, including software, advertising, and lawsuit service.

Workers betwixt 18 and 34 were the astir pessimistic property group, with astir 20% viewing existent conditions arsenic favorable for job-searching — little than fractional the 41% of workers aged 65 and older who said the same. Gen Z workers were the astir mobile, with implicit 60% either actively seeking oregon monitoring the occupation market, portion 74% of babe boomers reported nary involvement successful changing employers.

Among each workforce segments, national authorities employees experienced the astir terrible deterioration successful wellbeing, with their mean thriving complaint shedding 12 points from 2022 to settee astatine 48% successful 2025.

Pay and benefits were the starring crushed workers gave for seeking caller employment, cited by 69% of those motivated by the imaginable of a amended opportunity. Separately, among workers who said leaving their existent relation would beryllium excessively costly, an identical stock — 69% — pointed to the hazard of losing their existing wage oregon benefits arsenic the superior obstacle.