According to a new Gallup Poll, 71% of Americans believe it is a good time to find a quality job, despite record-high inflation and fears of a coming recession.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of U.S. adults who thought it was a good time to find a quality job fell substantially — from 68% in January 2020 to 22% in April 2020 — though it has since rebounded and has stayed above 70% since last August.
The most recent 71% level is close to the 21-year high of 74% that Gallup found last October.
According to the survey, a record 25% of the workforce said they thought it was "very" or "fairly likely" at the beginning of the pandemic that they would lose their job within the next year. While the number of people worried they will lose their jobs has come down to 15%, the figure is still higher than prepandemic levels.
The unemployment rate is currently 3.6% and has been below 5% since last September, according to The Hill.
Non-college graduates and people whose annual household incomes are less than $75,000 were more likely to say they are concerned they will lose their jobs in the next year than college graduates and people earning more than $75,000.
If they are laid off, however, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they believe they are "very" or "somewhat likely" to land a new job that is comparable to their current one, a finding that’s practically unchanged from the last time Gallup asked the question in 2016.
In its analysis, Gallup said that high inflation and gas prices top the list of things Americans are concerned about, but the low unemployment rate is keeping outlook on the job market mostly positive.
The poll was conducted April 1-18 and surveyed 1,018 U.S. adults via cellphones and landlines. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
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