Most workers (69%) feel that they currently have at least a fair amount of job security, with 33% saying they have a great deal of security. Another 17% say they have some job security, and 13% say they have little to none.
White workers and those with upper incomes are among the most likely to say they have a great deal of job security. About four-in-ten White workers (39%) say this, compared with 25% of Black workers and 22% each among Hispanic and Asian workers.
And among upper-income workers, 43% say they have a great deal of security in their job. About a third of those with middle incomes (34%) and a smaller share of those with lower incomes (22%) say the same.
Perceptions of job security also vary by the type of employer workers have. Government workers are the most likely to say they have a great deal of job security (47%), followed by those who work at nonprofits (39%). The survey was conducted before the announcement of possible cuts to the federal workforce in the next presidential administration.
About three-in-ten of those who work at a private company (29%) or who are self-employed (28%) feel they have a great deal of security in their job.
These patterns also hold when looking at those who say they have at least a fair amount of job security.
Workers’ sense of job security is virtually unchanged from 2022, when we last asked this question.3 In that survey, 69% said they had at least a fair amount of job security, with 35% saying they felt a great deal of security. Some 16% felt they had some job security, while 15% said they had little or none.
Looking for a new job
For the most part, workers have no near-term plans to look for a new job: At the time of the October survey, 63% said they were unlikely to do so in the next six months. A quarter said they were at least somewhat likely to look for a new job, while 12% said they were neither likely nor unlikely to do so. These figures are similar to what they were in 2022.
The shares who said they’re very or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the coming months are higher among some groups:
- 37% of Black workers and 30% each among Hispanic and Asian workers versus 20% of White workers
- 37% of workers ages 18 to 30 versus 26% of those ages 30 to 49, 16% of those 50 to 64 and 10% of workers 65 and older
- 37% of workers with lower incomes versus 23% of those with middle incomes and 17% of those with upper incomes
It’s perhaps not surprising that workers who are not too or not at all satisfied with their job are far more likely than those who are extremely or very satisfied to say they’re likely to look for a new job (64% vs. 11%). About a third of those who are somewhat satisfied with their job (31%) say the same.
The share saying they’re likely to look for a new job decreases as perceptions of job security grow more optimistic. About six-in-ten of those who say they have no job security at all (58%) say they’re likely to look for a new job, compared with:
- 50% of those with a little job security
- 33% of those with some job security
- 21% of those with a fair amount of job security
- 14% of those with a great deal of job security
How easy or difficult would it be to find a new job?
While the shares of workers who feel their job is secure and who say they’re likely to look for a new job in the near future are unchanged from two years ago, workers are now much more likely than in 2022 to say it would be very or somewhat difficult for them to get the kind of job they would want if they were to look for a new one today.
About half of workers (52%) now say it would be difficult for them to find the kind of job they want, while 26% say this would be easy and 21% say it would be neither easy nor difficult. In 2022, similar shares of workers said it would be difficult (37%) as said it would be easy (39%) for them to find the kind of job they want if they were to look for a new one.
The shares of workers saying it would be difficult for them to find a new job are up by double digits among men and women and across racial and ethnic groups, income tiers, and levels of educational attainment. This is also the case among workers in most age groups. (The increase has been more modest, at 8 points, among workers ages 65 and older.)
Still, some groups are more likely than others to say it would be difficult for them to find a new job if they were to look for one. A majority of workers ages 18 to 29 (58%) say this would be difficult, compared with about half of those in older age groups. And while 62% of those with lower incomes say it would be difficult for them to find a new job, 51% of those with middle incomes and 45% of those with upper incomes say the same.
