US workers concerned about job cuts at the highest rate since 2020

US WORKERS are increasingly worried about job cuts, even as their concerns about an upcoming recession are diminishing.

Discussions of layoffs reached the highest level since July 2020 this month, according to Glassdoor, a website where current and former employees anonymously review companies. Employee confidence deteriorated to a fresh low in data going back to 2016, based on a monthly index published by the firm.

“Why is employee confidence falling even as broader economic data remains strong?,” Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, wrote in a report. “American workers may be most concerned about their job security regardless of how the economy is doing.”

Surveys after surveys have highlighted the growing disconnect between how Americans feel about the economy and actual data. The US gross domestic product grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years last quarter, spurred by a burst of consumer spending. 

The labour market has also remained robust. After employment unexpectedly surged in September, economists estimate payrolls rose by a still-solid 180,000 this month, based on forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. And the jobless rate, expected to hold at 3.8 per cent for a third month, is historically low. 

And yet the share of employees reporting a positive six-month business outlook for their employer fell to 45 per cent in October in the Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index. That’s down from 54.6 per cent a year earlier.

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By industry, employee confidence is weakest among information workers. The sector employs almost 100,000 fewer people than at its pandemic-era peak last year, based on government data, and waves of job cuts have reversed confidence among employees. 

Construction, an industry that has been booming and experiencing labour shortages, continues to hold the highest employee confidence level in the index – although it’s lower than a year ago. 

Confidence among senior managers dropped sharply in October, according to the Glassdoor index. Still, they more confident than mid-level and entry-level employees. BLOOMBERG