Axios Markets

June 10, 2025
☹️ There's no getting around it: Employees are feeling down. We're digging into new data on the serious gloom among entry-level workers, just as new graduates hit the market.
- Plus: How unions are playing the immigration crackdown, and the lagging dollar keeps lagging.
All in 1,050 words, a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Young workers are incredibly nervous


There is high anxiety among entry-level workers. A report from Glassdoor out this morning shows they have record-low confidence in their employers.
Why it matters: Hiring in the job market has slowed considerably from a few years ago, which is especially troubling for those at the start of their careers.
By the numbers: The share of entry-level workers who said they feel 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 the anxiety is more personal for entry-level workers.
- They are nervous after living through a lot of workplace upheaval, Glassdoor lead economist Daniel Zhao says.
- "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,'" he says.
Entry-level workers have jobs, and thus a leg up among their unemployed young 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 jobs are also increasingly threatened by the advancement of artificial intelligence, as Axios has reported.
The big picture: A lot of workers feel stuck in their roles right now, 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 their earnings.
- A lot of salary growth happens during the first 10 years of your career, before it flattens out, according to Zhao.
The bottom line: The job market is pretty meh for a lot of people, especially those who are just starting out.
2. The immigration fight moves to the workplace
Unions rallied around the country yesterday to protest the increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration.
Why it matters: The White House has taken its immigration efforts inside the American workplace, conducting raids at worksites in Los Angeles on Friday and elsewhere, and unions have been a key player in pushing back.
The big picture: Immigrants, documented or not, are a crucial part of the resurgent labor movement — especially at the SEIU, which organized the protests — and represent a growing share of the working class.
- "The growth of unions for the past 10 to 15 years has been hugely driven by immigrant workers," says Paul Ortiz, a professor of labor history at Cornell University and a former AFL-CIO official.
Catch up quick: David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, was arrested on Friday at a worksite immigration raid, where he was serving as a community observer.
- Huerta, who got his start in the labor movement organizing janitors, is now criminally charged with "conspiracy to impede an officer," per NBC News. He was released from custody yesterday.
- Big unions issued statements of support, including the UAW and AFL-CIO.
Flashback: Up until the turn of the 21st century, organized labor supported crackdowns on undocumented workers, believing those workers dragged down wages.
- That started to change in the late 1990s and was fully catalyzed when the AFL-CIO changed its position in 2000 to full support of immigration and called for amnesty for undocumented workers.
Between the lines: Workplace raids will likely force more unions to take sides for or against the White House, says John Logan, a professor of labor studies at San Francisco State University.
- "You can't deport huge numbers of people without widespread workplace enforcement," Logan says. "It's highly likely this will be the focus of the administration's efforts, which will draw union leaders into this conflict."
Zoom in: Unions don't like workplace raids, in part because they create an environment of fear, which isn't good for organizing or workplace activism.
- "If half the workforce is scared of being rounded up and sent out of the country, they're going to be quiet," says Nelson Lichtenstein, a research professor and labor historian with UC Santa Barbara. "It's much more pervasive than just those who don't have documents."
The other side: "I don't care who you are — if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted," U.S. attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement Friday about Huerta's arrest.
- The White House yesterday touted its efforts to arrest "sick criminals" in Los Angeles.
3. Charted: Dueling narratives about the market


Stocks are back in a bull market and nearing all-time highs. The dollar, meanwhile, is pushing a three-year low.
Why it matters: Domestic retail fervor, meet global institutional skepticism.
By the numbers: Since the April 8 lows after the Liberation Day tariffs, the S&P 500 is up almost 21%, good enough for a new bull market.
- Over the same time, the U.S. Dollar Index is down about 4%, near February 2022 levels.
Between the lines: U.S. investors are taking still solid economic data and a slight easing of trade war pressures as a sign it's time to party again.
- "The stock market is signaling reduced economic impact from tariffs, continued economic growth and future potential benefits from a reduced regulatory environment," Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at New York-based Treasury Partners, wrote in a note yesterday.
The intrigue: As JPMorgan analysts wrote last week, retail buying — while slightly off in May versus March and April — is at levels last seen during the meme stock mania of 2021.
- With the market quickly approaching the all-time highs hit in late February, some technical indicators are starting to show "overbought" conditions.
The other side: Internationally, the dollar continues to lose favor, as U.S. headline risk moves investors to consider safer havens elsewhere.
- The "broader concern remains: Trust in the dollar as a global reserve currency continues to erode, reinforcing its position as the core of the 'Sell America' trade," George Vessey, lead FX and macro strategist at Convera, wrote in a note Friday.
- "Unless stronger trade agreements materialize, skepticism toward the dollar is likely to persist, keeping upside potential limited."
The bottom line: Someone is going to be proven right, eventually.
Thanks to Ben Berkowitz for editing and Anjelica Tan for copy editing. See you tomorrow!
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