Job Security Fears Among Americans Remain Elevated Despite Hiring
Glassdoor research shows layoff anxiety is surging, driven largely by AI-related uncertainty in the workplace.
American workers are growing increasingly uneasy about their employment prospects, even as headline unemployment figures have remained relatively stable. New research from Glassdoor identifies a sharp rise in anxiety around layoffs and job security, pointing to artificial intelligence as a central driver of that unease. The finding underscores a disconnect that economists and labor analysts have struggled to explain: the gap between what macroeconomic data shows and what workers actually feel.
The psychological toll of AI adoption in the workplace is proving to be significant and widespread. Unlike previous waves of automation, which tended to target specific industries or skill sets, today's generative AI tools are perceived as a threat across white-collar professions — from marketing and legal work to software development and customer service. That breadth of exposure helps explain why anxiety is not confined to any single sector but appears to be cutting across the labor market broadly.
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This kind of sentiment divergence — where formal employment data looks healthy but worker confidence erodes — has real economic consequences. When people fear losing their jobs, they tend to pull back on discretionary spending, delay major financial decisions, and resist taking career risks. In aggregate, that behavioral shift can dampen consumer demand and slow economic momentum, even in the absence of an actual spike in unemployment claims.
Glassdoor's research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that traditional labor market indicators may be inadequate tools for capturing the full picture of worker wellbeing in an era of rapid technological change. Policymakers and employers alike may need to grapple with the reality that perceived job insecurity — regardless of whether layoffs are actually accelerating — carries its own economic weight. The sentiment itself, if left unaddressed, can become a self-reinforcing cycle of caution and contraction.
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