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

According to a Gallup survey released this week, only 28% of American workers felt the fourth quarter of 2025 was a good time to look for a quality job, less than half of the 70% who said the same in mid-2022. Gallup described the 42-point change as the sharpest erosion of labor market confidence it has measured in the past four years.

The survey of 22,368 full-time and part-time workers was conducted from October 30 to November 13, 2025, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus one percentage point.

The survey also found, for the first time in Gallup’s history of measuring workforce well-being, that workers who are struggling (49%) now outnumber those considered thriving (46%). Employee engagement, at 31%, has reached its lowest point recorded in the decade that Gallup has tracked this metric.

Gallup found that 51% of the workforce was at some point job searching – either actively pursuing new roles or passively monitoring the market – while 43% said leaving their current position would be too difficult or costly. Of those actively searching, 49% said the process was negative. Most people who applied for a job in the last 30 days were not called for an interview.

College-educated workers demonstrated the most pessimism – a marked departure from the previous trend in which those with a degree consistently viewed labor market conditions more favorably than those without a college degree. Degree holders were found to be the most pessimistic of all education groups, with only 19% saying the job market was favorable by the end of 2025, compared to 35% of workers who never attended college. The Associated Press linked the gap to two years of weak hiring in white-collar fields, including software, advertising and customer service.

Workers ages 18 to 34 are the most pessimistic age group, with about 20% viewing current conditions as favorable for job searching, less than half of the 41% of workers ages 65 and older who said the same. Gen Z workers were the most mobile, with more than 60% actively searching or monitoring the job market, while 74% of baby boomers reported no interest in changing employers.

Among all workforce segments, federal government employees experienced the greatest deterioration in well-being, with their average success rate dropping 12 points from 2022 to 48% in 2025.

Pay and benefits were the top reason workers cited for looking for a new job, cited by 69% of those motivated by the prospect of a better opportunity. Meanwhile, among workers who said leaving their current position would be too costly, an identical proportion (69%) highlighted the risk of losing their current salary or benefits as the main obstacle.