An overwhelming majority of American workers are worried about job security in 2025, according to a new study published by the platform My Perfect Resume, titled “The Great Stay: 2025 State of the Labor Market,” reports Rks News.
The survey, conducted with 1,115 employees, revealed that about 81% of respondents fear they will lose their jobs this year, while 20% say they are “much more concerned” compared to the previous year, according to Newsweek.
Roughly 76% of participants expect layoffs to increase in 2025, and 92% believe a recession is on the horizon. Meanwhile, 63% think more companies will shut down this year than in 2024.
The statistics are backed by March data showing that, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 275,240 layoffs were reported by U.S. employers—higher than during the same month in pandemic-stricken 2020. Of those, 216,215 came from the federal government, affecting a total of 280,253 workers in just two months across 27 government agencies.
Reportedly, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, is spearheading this wave of layoffs in an effort to cut bureaucracy and reduce state spending.
“It’s not just fear of losing a job. People fear the system will forget them,” said Patrice Williams Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad.
“Nothing feels secure anymore,” she added.
Lindo emphasizes that this anxiety is both real and justified.
“Layoffs are still happening and regularly even if they seem unpredictable. The economy feels unstable. Regulations are constantly shifting. The news cycle never ends. Workers are exhausted, and this anxiety is visible,” she said.
“They’re not just afraid of losing their job. They’re afraid of being forgotten — left without a safety net, without income, without health insurance, without anything.”
Entrepreneur Adriana L. Cowdin noted that while the situation isn’t unprecedented, it is particularly destabilizing, since even institutions typically seen as reliable like the federal government are now showing signs that nothing is guaranteed.
“I’ve seen how political and economic changes shape the perception of security — from the dot-com crash in 2000, to 9/11, to the 2008 financial crisis, to the pandemic. When predictability disappears, people start asking: if they can’t rely on the market, the state, or major corporations what can they rely on?”
According to Sam Wright of Huntr, recent layoffs at major media and tech companies have added to the climate of psychological pressure.
Stress levels are on the rise: 52% of survey participants expect their stress to worsen, and 43% directly link this to job insecurity.
To cope, 61% of workers say they plan to invest more in education and skills training by 2025.
