Entry-level worker confidence is lower than ever
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It's a high-anxiety moment for entry-level workers — a report from Glassdoor out Tuesday morning shows they have record-low confidence in their employers.
Why it matters: The hiring market has slowed considerably from a few years ago, and that's especially troubling for those at the start of their careers.
By the numbers: The share of entry-level workers who said they were feeling positive about their employers' business prospects fell to 43.4% in May, the lowest level since Glassdoor, a workplace review platform, began tracking it in 2016.
- Overall employee confidence is also at a record low.
Zoom in: The swirling economic uncertainty around tariffs is driving part of this, but for entry-level workers the anxiety is more personal.
- They are nervous after living through a lot of workplace upheaval, says Glassdoor lead economist Daniel Zhao.
- "A very common refrain you'll hear is somebody saying, 'Oh, my company has gone through two layoffs in the last two years, and I'm uncertain about when the next one is coming.'"
Entry level employees have jobs, and thus a leg up among their unemployed peers coming out of college.
- Still, that doesn't mean all is well.
- "Just because you have a job doesn't necessarily mean you are happy in your job, or you think that your business, your employer, has good prospects for the future," Zhao says.
Between the lines: Entry-level work is also increasingly threatened by the advancement of AI, as Axios recently reported.
The big picture: A lot of workers are currently feeling stuck in their roles, as the labor market grinds slower.
- That's especially problematic for entry-level workers, because these are the folks most likely to job hop and benefit from switching — in terms of finding a job that's the right fit and increasing earnings.
- A lot of salary growth happens in the first 10 years of your career, before it flattens out, says Zhao.
The bottom line: The job market is pretty meh for a lot of people, especially those just starting out.
