Overview
- Gallup, which released the late-2025 results Tuesday, reports that just 28% of workers say now is a good time to find a quality job.
- Workers’ wellbeing has flipped, with 49% now struggling and 46% thriving, as employee engagement drops to 31%, the lowest in a decade.
- Pessimism is steepest among college graduates and younger adults, with 19% of degree holders and about one in five ages 18–34 seeing favorable conditions.
- Job searches often go nowhere, as most recent applicants report no interview invitations and nearly half of active seekers call the process negative.
- Government data reinforce the slump, with the hiring rate down to 3.2% in November 2025 and 7.4 million people unemployed versus 6.9 million openings.