Americans Continue to Worry about Layoffs and Restructuring as Perceived Job Security Falls for Third Straight Quarter; All Indices See Downturn to Start 2024 

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - May 21, 2024 – After reaching an all-time peak at the end of 2023, high worker morale appears to be fleeting as the U.S. Worker Confidence Index™ (WCI) declined across all four of its indices to begin 2024. While the WCI remains above where it was at the same time period last year, the Index fell 3.6 points from 114.9 to 111.3 in Q1 2024. The WCI, a survey of U.S. workers commissioned by HRO Today magazine and Yoh, a leading international talent and outsourcing company owned by Day & Zimmermann, gauges full-time workers’ perceptions of four key aspects of worker confidence: perceived job security, perceived likelihood of a promotion, perceived likelihood of a raise and overall trust in company leadership.

All four indices that comprise the WCI – Perceived Job Security, Perceived Likelihood of a Raise, Perceived Likelihood of a Promotion, and Trust in Company Leadership – decreased to start the year. Despite the strong end to 2023, Perceived Job Security fell for the third consecutive quarter, showing that Americans are increasingly concerned about their ability to retain their jobs over the short and long term. Among the indices, Trust in Company Leadership saw the biggest tumble, going from 110.0 in Q4 2023 to 102.4 in Q1 2024, a fall of 7.6 points. Even with its 2.8-point fall from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, Perceived Likelihood of a Raise remains the highest index at 129.1.

Additionally, while the end of 2023 saw the WCI reach its highest level ever, this recent report is now the fourth quarter in the last five to show declining worker confidence.

“As most employers and hiring managers well know, the talent market is experiencing a significant crunch and the battle for top talent is as fierce as ever. However, that doesn’t mean that workers are feeling confident in their future prospects. In fact, it’s quite the opposite,” said Emmett McGrath, president of Yoh. “Despite the reality of a strong workers’ market, the perception that American workers have is one of concern, not strength. Because of this, employers should be paying attention to the needs and demands of their current teams just as much as their prospects and candidates. Having a well rounded talent approach helps ensure that a company’s entire workforce – employees new and tenured – feel satisfied in their jobs and confident in their futures.”

Other key takeaways from the Q1 2024 Worker Confidence Index™ include:

• White workers actually saw an increase in confidence in Q1 2024, African American and Hispanic workers saw big downturns.
  

  From Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, confidence among White workers increased from 104.8 to 105.5. For African American workers, confidence sank from 150.1 to 136.0, a fall of 14.1 points. Hispanic workers saw a similar dip, going from 126.9 to 110.4 for a 16.5 point decline.

• Job security perceptions vary by age and salary.

Workers aged 18-14 (2.7-point decrease in likelihood of job loss) and those 45-54 (1.1-point decrease) reported more confidence in their Perceived Job Security while workers 25-34 (3.1-point increase in likelihood of job loss), 35-44 (0.5-point increase), 55-64 (2.2-point increase) and those 65+ (0.8-point increase) all reported less confidence in their job security. Those making $35K or less (0.6-point decrease in likelihood of job loss) and $50K-$75K (0.2-point decrease) are more confident in their job security. Workers making $35K-$50K (2.7-point increase in likelihood of job loss), $75K-$100K (2.6-point increase) and $100K+ (1.3-point increase) are less confident in job security.

• Democrats are more confident than Republicans and Independents.

With 2024 being a presidential election year, the WCI is measuring the impact of political affiliation on worker confidence. Workers who identified as Democrats started the year with more confidence (120.7) compared to those who identified as Republicans and Independents (110.8 and 95.5, respectively). The WCI will continue to monitor these trends as the year progresses into the general election this November.

To view the entire study, visit https://www.yoh.com/hro-today-employee-well-being-study.