If you are an American worker, you are probably worried about the future of your company. He is also interested in the entire US business environment.
These are the worsening opinions found by Glassdoor, a work site and online work community. With approximately 70,000 responses that comprise the May survey, 44% of workers expressed a six-month positive outlook for businesses. This is the lowest recorded level in nearly 10 years of research history.
The downward trend began in March 2022, coinciding with inflation rising to 40-year highs and the Federal Reserve launching a series of interest rate hikes to combat the rise in prices.
The economist will also receive a preliminary reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan on Friday. Analysts predict that they could improve slightly after returning to levels not seen since inflation peaked at 9% in June 2022. On Wednesday we will find out whether May’s inflation rate is stable at 2.3%.
Employee trust in businesses will be classified as a new low
Can’t view the graphics? Click here to see them.
Glassdoor’s lead economist Daniel Zhao said in an email to USA Today that workers are “increasingly disillusioned with employers” as they have managed heavier workloads since 2022.
“Many employees are referring to several layoffs that create anxiety about when the next round will arrive and when the team will leave staffing and overwork,” Zhao said. “This also contributes to workers’ sense of economic uncertainty and anxiety.”
In May, employee reviews referring to layoffs rose 9% since April, but mentions of “uncertainty” skyrocketed 63% compared to the same period last year. “Uncertainty is not solely related to policy changes, but some reviews explicitly cite them,” Zhao said.
More reviews with “layoffs” and “uncertainty”
Another measure, the Zeta Economic Index, examines trillions of digital interactions of 245 million people in the United States. Among the factors leading to a decline, job market sentiment has fallen by almost 9% since May last year.
Still, Americans’ outlook varies widely from industry to industry. Some of the more pessimistic views appear to be linked to tariff-related developments. Trust between construction and logistics workers has declined the most since April since the 2.6% down. Meanwhile, manufacturing employees are less optimistic than they were a year ago.
Production workers’ concerns were reflected in another monthly report released last week. The Institute for Supply Management’s May Survey has shown that US manufacturing has signed its third consecutive month of contract.
Which employees are the least confident about their company
Glassdoor Report highlights another troubling trend. Employee trust among entry-level workers fell to a record low of 43.4 in May. Entry-level employees have historically reported low reliability in the company’s outlook, but the gap between them and top leaders has grown to around 18% points last month.
A recent report from global economic forecasting firm Oxford Economics found in early June that recent opportunities for university graduates (particularly in the technology work) were limited by the rise of artificial intelligence and the uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
How employee confidence differs depending on career level
Not much scientifically, Zhao said that the posts and comments by Glassdoor members also pointed to greater uncertainty and burnout among US workers.
◾ Business Health: “It’s not uncommon to hear whispers of unpaid invoices, late payments, or emergency scramblings just to continue running essential services.”
◾ Other layoffs: “The company faced continued challenges and there were many quiet layoffs.”
◾ Burnout: “People choose to leave the company without a line of anything just because we’re all so burned out. I think in this economy, that speaks volume.”