Two Gallup surveys from 2025 reveal a sharp decline in American workers’ confidence in the job market, with a stark generational divide and a widening education-based optimism gap.
Generational Divide Widens
A Gallup World Poll conducted from June 14 to July 16, 2025 (sample of approximately 1,000 U.S. adults, margin of error ±4.4 percentage points) found that 43% of Americans aged 15-34 believe it is “a good time” to find a job in their local area. In contrast, 64% of those aged 55 and over held the same view.
The generational gap is the largest observed among 141 countries surveyed. Globally, 48% of younger people and 38% of older people reported it is a good time to find work.
Young Americans' optimism declined 27 percentage points from 2023 to 2025, a drop comparable to the decline observed during the 2008 financial crisis for that age group.
Over the same period, older Americans’ views declined only slightly. Pessimism is reported as widespread among young subgroups, including college graduates, young women, and those not yet employed.
A separate AP-NORC poll conducted in April 2025 found that about 8 in 10 adults under 35 describe the U.S. economy as very or somewhat poor, compared to about 6 in 10 adults 55 and older.
Education-Based Disparity
A second Gallup survey conducted from October 30 to November 13, 2025 (sample of 22,368 U.S. adults working full-time and part-time, margin of error ±1.0 percentage points) found that 28% of workers believed it was a “good time” to find a quality job, while 72% considered it a “bad time.” This contrasts with mid-2022, when 70% viewed it as a good time.
Only 19% of workers with a college degree felt it was a good time to find a quality job, compared to 35% of those without a degree.
This gap in optimism between educational levels is the widest since Gallup began tracking this metric in 2001.
Broader Economic Indicators
Government data indicates the overall hiring rate in the U.S. fell to 3.2% in November, the lowest since March 2013. The hiring rate was 3.9% before the pandemic. As of November, there were 7.4 million unemployed individuals and 6.9 million available jobs, a reversal from the immediate post-pandemic period when available jobs exceeded unemployed individuals.
The Gallup survey from late 2025 also indicated that workers’ evaluations of their current life and future prospects are at their lowest point since 2009. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey registered 91.2 in February, near pandemic lows and down from pre-pandemic levels.
Generational Segmentation Within Late 2025 Survey
Among workers surveyed in the late 2025 Gallup poll, about 20% of workers aged 18-34 believed it was a good time to find a job, whereas approximately 40% of workers aged 65 and older shared this view. Younger workers (Gen Z and Millennials) were also more likely to report actively seeking or watching for new job opportunities than older workers (Baby Boomers).
Context for Pessimism
The decline in confidence observed in the mid-2025 Gallup World Poll coincided with the start of President Trump’s second term and with public concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level jobs. Older Americans, who are more likely to be retired and own homes, reported less dire views.
The United States is one of five countries where younger people are at least 10 percentage points more pessimistic than older ones about job availability, alongside China, Hong Kong, Norway, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates.