A new poll finds that younger Americans are more pessimistic than older ones about the state of the job market. This is a sudden reversal from just three years ago, when older Americans were more pessimistic. In the United States until 2023 and in many countries globally, young people tend to be more optimistic about the job market than older people. Gallup found that, typically, around the world, younger people are more likely by 10 percentage points than older ones to report their local job market is good. In the United States, younger people are 21 percentage points less likely to do so than older ones.
A new Gallup survey finds that Americans' outlook on the job market is increasingly pessimistic. The negative shift may seem incongruous with the low unemployment rate, but the findings likely reflect an ongoing hiring drought. Just 28% of workers in a quarterly Gallup survey conducted in the last part of 2025 said now is a "good time" to find a job, with 72% saying it is a bad time. Those figures are a sharp reversal from just a few years ago, in mid-2022, when 70% said it was a good time. Pessimism is especially pronounced among young people and college graduates.
Do you tend to see things as glass half full or glass half empty? Numerous studies over the years have demonstrated a link between a positive outlook and good health outcomes. But what if you're just too negative? Sue Varma is an NYU clinical assistant professor in psychiatry and author of "Practical Optimism." She says you can reframe your worries and train yourself to be an optimist. Imagine the best possible solution to a problem and a path toward getting there. Varma also says trying to master a new skill can help. So might molding your work responsibilities in ways that better suit your interests. Being an optimist is a mindset, she says, and takes practice.
