Lead
U.S. workers’ confidence in the job market has eroded sharply, Gallup found in a quarterly poll conducted Oct. 30–Nov. 13, 2025. Just 28% of employed respondents said it is a “good time” to find a quality job, while 72% said it is a bad time — a dramatic reversal from mid‑2022 when 70% were optimistic. The fall in optimism comes amid an extended slowdown in hiring even as headline unemployment remains low. The survey and related government data point to a labor market where firms hold on to staff but add few new roles, limiting opportunities for many jobseekers.
Key takeaways
- Gallup poll of 22,368 U.S. workers (Oct. 30–Nov. 13, 2025) reports 28% say now is a good time to find a quality job, while 72% say it is a bad time.
- Optimism has plunged from about 70% in mid‑2022 to under 50% in late‑2024 and 28% in late‑2025, marking a rapid shift in sentiment.
- College graduates show acute pessimism: 19% of workers with a college degree say it is a good time to find a quality job, versus 35% of workers without a degree.
- Younger workers (ages 18–34) are the most pessimistic and the most active jobseekers; roughly 2 in 10 in that group say it is a good time to find work, compared with about 4 in 10 of those 65 and older.
- Government data show a hiring rate of 3.2% in November 2025 — the lowest since March 2013 — and 7.4 million unemployed people versus 6.9 million job openings.
- Gallup reports workforce life evaluations at their lowest level since the firm began measuring that series in 2009.
- Conference Board consumer confidence was 91.2 in February 2026, down from nearly 130 before the pandemic, reinforcing the broader negative economic sentiment.
Background
The recent Gallup findings arrive against a backdrop of diverging labor indicators: headline unemployment remains low, yet hiring activity has cooled markedly. Economists describe the current environment as “low‑hire, low‑fire,” in which employers retain existing staff but add few new positions. That pattern keeps unemployment low while making it difficult for jobseekers — especially entrants and career changers — to find openings.
White‑collar sectors such as software, customer service and advertising have experienced especially weak hiring over the last two years, contributing to a pronounced pessimism among college‑educated workers. Historically, college graduates have reported higher optimism about finding quality jobs; Gallup now says their job‑market optimism is the weakest since 2013. At the same time, older workers tend to feel secure because firms are reluctant to lay off experienced staff.
Main event
The Gallup quarterly survey canvassed 22,368 U.S. adults who were working full‑time or part‑time for organizations in the U.S., using Gallup’s probability‑based panel. The poll’s margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 1.0 percentage point. Respondents were asked whether now is a good time to find a quality job; 28% answered yes in the late‑2025 wave.
The timing of the survey is notable: it was completed long before the Iran war and the subsequent surge in oil and gas prices that began later in 2025. Gallup’s authors and analysts note that the pessimism captured in the poll primarily reflects a domestic hiring drought that had already been under way for roughly two years.
Demographic splits in the results are stark. Only about 19% of workers with a college degree said it was a good time to find a quality job, compared with 35% of workers without a degree. Age differences are large as well: roughly 20% of 18–34‑year‑olds view the market positively versus about 40% of those 65 and older.
Complementary government data underline the slowdown in labor turnover. The Labor Department’s measure of the monthly hiring rate fell to 3.2% last November, its lowest level since March 2013; pre‑pandemic it was about 3.9%. The Department’s counts also show 7.4 million people unemployed against 6.9 million job openings, reversing the vacancy‑heavy picture seen in the first years after the pandemic.
Analysis & implications
The gap between low unemployment and low hiring suggests a labor market with frictions restricting mobility: firms are keeping workers but scaling back new recruitment, which narrows entry points for jobseekers and slows reallocation of labor across sectors. That dynamic helps explain why many headline indicators — low unemployment, moderate GDP growth — can coexist with widespread worker pessimism.
College graduates’ particularly weak confidence points to sectoral weakness in white‑collar hiring. Technology, digital advertising and certain customer‑service functions have hired unevenly since 2023, reducing opportunities for mid‑career and newly graduated talent. This raises risks for long‑term earnings trajectories and could damp future consumer spending among younger cohorts if underemployment persists.
From a policy perspective, weak hiring complicates the narrative for monetary and fiscal choices. Central banks monitor wage growth and labor slack when setting rates; persistent low hiring with low layoffs may keep wages and inflation pressures uneven, making it harder to predict the appropriate policy stance. Fiscal measures aimed at retraining or subsidizing hiring in hard‑hit sectors could be considered, but the effectiveness depends on whether demand or structural mismatches are the primary constraint.
Internationally, a domestic hiring drought can lower aggregate demand, which would have spillovers for trade and global supply chains. If energy price shocks attributable to geopolitical events curb consumer spending, the combination of weaker hiring and lower spending could slow growth more broadly — though that sequence was not captured by the Gallup poll itself, which predated the late‑2025 energy shock.
Comparison & data
| Measure | Mid‑2022 | Late‑2024 | Late‑2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share saying it’s a good time to find a quality job | 70% | <50% (just under half) | 28% |
| College grads (good time) | — | — | 19% |
| Non‑college workers (good time) | — | — | 35% |
| Hiring rate (Labor Dept.) | 3.9% (pre‑pandemic) | — | 3.2% (Nov 2025) |
| Unemployed vs job openings | — | Vacancies > unemployed (post‑pandemic years) | 7.4M unemployed vs 6.9M openings |
The table highlights the steep fall in perceived opportunity between mid‑2022 and late‑2025 and the disparity between college‑educated and non‑college workers. The low hiring rate and the larger number of unemployed than vacancies underscore how employers’ reluctance to add staff has tightened actual mobility even as unemployment statistics appear benign.
Reactions & quotes
“Workers’ views have swung sharply toward pessimism, particularly among those with college degrees, reflecting weak hiring in key white‑collar fields.”
Gallup (poll analysis)
Gallup summarized the poll results and the demographic splits in its briefing, noting the historical low in college‑graduate optimism.
“A sustained low hiring rate can keep unemployment low while choking off new opportunities for jobseekers — that is the defining paradox we see now.”
Labor economist
An academic labor economist observing the data emphasized the policy and mobility implications of a market with few openings despite low layoffs.
“Consumer confidence has retreated, and that sentiment helps explain why household spending may soften even if headline jobs numbers look reassuring.”
Conference Board (consumer survey)
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence series, which measured 91.2 in February, reinforces the broader mood captured across surveys.
Unconfirmed
- The poll predates the Iran war and subsequent energy price jumps; any direct link between the conflict and the survey’s pessimism is not supported by the poll timing.
- Sectoral explanations (for example, that specific tech firms alone are responsible for the decline) are plausible but not proven solely by the aggregated Gallup data.
- Short‑term causation between hiring rate declines and longer‑term wage stagnation remains subject to further empirical study.
Bottom line
Gallup’s late‑2025 survey documents a sharp deterioration in workers’ views of the job market: only 28% now see it as a good time to find a quality job, a rapid reversal from the optimism of 2022. The combination of low hiring rates, a greater number of unemployed people than open positions, and pronounced pessimism among college graduates and younger workers signals a jobs market that is less fluid than headline unemployment rates imply.
Policymakers, employers and jobseekers should monitor hiring‑rate trends, vacancy counts and sectoral hiring patterns closely. If low hiring persists, it could depress career mobility and damp future consumer demand; conversely, a rebound in openings would likely restore confidence most rapidly among younger and newly credentialed workers.