According to a Gallup survey released this week, only 28% of U.S. workers rated the fourth quarter of 2025 as a good time to seek a quality job — less than half the 70% who said the same in mid-2022. Gallup described the 42-point swing as the steepest erosion in job market confidence it has measured over the past four years.
The survey of 22,368 full- and part-time workers was conducted Oct. 30 through Nov. 13, 2025, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus one percentage point.
The survey also recorded, for the first time in Gallup's history of measuring workforce wellbeing, that struggling workers (49%) now outnumber those considered thriving (46%). Employee engagement, at 31%, reached its lowest recorded point in Gallup's decade of tracking the metric.
Gallup found 51% of the workforce was at some stage of job-seeking — either actively pursuing new roles or passively monitoring the market — while 43% said leaving their current role would be too difficult or costly. Among those actively searching, 49% said the process was negative. Most people who applied for jobs in the past 30 days had not been invited to any interviews.
College-educated workers showed the sharpest pessimism — a marked departure from the previous trend in which degree holders had consistently viewed job market conditions more favorably than those without college credentials. Degree holders proved the most downbeat of any education group, with just 19% saying the job market was favorable by late 2025 — compared with 35% of workers who never attended college. The Associated Press tied that gap to two years of weak hiring across white-collar fields, including software, advertising, and customer service.
Workers between 18 and 34 were the most pessimistic age group, with roughly 20% viewing current conditions as favorable for job-searching — less than half the 41% of workers aged 65 and older who said the same. Gen Z workers were the most mobile, with over 60% either actively seeking 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 most severe deterioration in wellbeing, with their average thriving rate shedding 12 points from 2022 to settle at 48% in 2025.
Pay and benefits were the leading reason workers gave for seeking new employment, cited by 69% of those motivated by the prospect of a better opportunity. Separately, among workers who said leaving their current role would be too costly, an identical share — 69% — pointed to the risk of losing their existing pay or benefits as the primary obstacle.