Job security in crisis?
In an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey conducted online in June among 1,000 job seekers in the United States ages 18 and older, 73 percent agree that no job is secure, no matter how well an employee performs, and 71 percent say job security is becoming a thing of the past. These concerns seem to be reshaping how Americans approach their careers, with many reporting a dramatic shift in their sense of stability.
- 67 percent of employed job seekers say they used to feel stable in their careers, but now everything feels uncertain;
- 50 percent of job seekers expect a recession in the next 12 months, 24 percent believe it will happen within six months, and 9 percent say we’re already in one;
- 74 percent are concerned about finding a job during a potential or ongoing recession, while 73 percent worry that any job they accept now may be at risk if the economy worsens;
- 71 percent feel the current job market forces them to settle for less than they’re qualified for;
- 51 percent are more concerned about job security than they were a year ago;
- 65 percent say fear of a recession influences their willingness to negotiate salary or benefits.
- 38 percent are more open to different work environments; 31percent are applying to roles outside their target industry; 27 percent are applying to roles they’re overqualified for; 23 percent are willing to relocate; and 21 percent are more open to lower salaries
- While 73 percent are confident in their company’s ability to provide short-term job security and 69 percent confident in long-term job security, 74 percent say changes in government policies have a bigger impact on job security than decisions made by company leadership.
Overemployment
A survey commissioned by AIResumeBuilder.com reveals that 1 in 20 full-time U.S. workers are holding down more than one full-time job (overemployed)— and AI is playing a major role in helping them do it. Common AI uses include summarizing meetings and documents, writing emails, managing calendars, automating tasks, and generating reports. The survey, conducted online in July among 3,283 employees also reveals that:
- 64 percent of overemployed workers use AI tools to manage their workloads, stay productive, and avoid detection;
- Gen Z is driving the trend, with nearly 1 in 8 Gen Zers reporting multiple full-time roles.
- Most workers holding multiple jobs report working under 50 hours a week in total, aided significantly by automation and AI-powered productivity tools;
- Among those using AI to juggle responsibilities, 18 percent say they couldn’t manage without it; another 42 percent say it plays a major role;
- Financial motivation is the biggest driver of overemployment—nearly half of workers juggling multiple jobs have household incomes over $100k. Other drivers are fear of being replaced by AI or laid off; workplace boredom; and the desire to develop new skills.
Quiet cracking
Resume Templates, an online service offering “HR-approved” templates for professional resumes, reports that nearly 60 percent—59 percent, to be exact—of workers interviewed in a recent survey are “quiet cracking,” meaning they’re fulfilling their responsibilities but under the surface are dissatisfied, and feel drained and disengaged. Other key findings when Resume Templates surveyed 1,113 full-time U.S. workers in August show:
- Nearly 1 in 5 say their quiet cracking has persisted for a year or more;
- 72 percent of Gen Zers and 65 percent of millennials are experiencing it, compared to 51 percent of Gen Xers and just 29 percent of baby boomers;
- Men report quiet cracking at higher rates than women (62 percent vs. 56 percent, respectively);
- Top causes are excessive workload (43 percent), personal life stress (40 percent), and bad management (36 percent);
- 43 percent take time off, and 36 percent explore other jobs to cope;
- 62 percent of quiet crackers are likely to change jobs in the next six months.
DEI elimination
Resume.org, a leading platform for building a resume, released findings from a July 2025 survey of 965 U.S. companies that had DEI programs in place before the 2024 presidential election. Major takeaways from the survey include:
- Since President Trump’s reelection, 20 percent of these companies say they’ve eliminated their DEI programs entirely;
- 74 percent of companies that cut DEI did so due to political climate;
- 39 percent of these say they’ve reduced benefits that were originally tied to DEI;
- 35 percent say they’re struggling to attract diverse talent;
- 36 percent say retention has declined;
- 30 percent of companies that cut DEI programs report promoting fewer underrepresented workers;
- 10 percent of companies with remaining DEI programs scaled back investment;
- 57 percent of companies that eliminated DEI report decreases in hiring of one or more underrepresented groups;
- Half of companies that cut DEI say morale is down, and 1 in 5 sayreports of discrimination and bias are up.
