This month, chatter about layoffs reached the highest level since July 2020, according to a monthly employee confidence index report from Glassdoor.
The Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index shows the share of U.S. full-time and part-time employees who report a positive six-month business outlook for their employer. Overall, employee confidence fell to a new low in October, with 45% of employees reporting a positive six-month business outlook. The previous low was in 2016.
"Why is employee confidence falling even as broader economic data remains strong? American workers may be most concerned about their job security regardless of how the economy is doing," Daniel Zhao, senior economist at the job review site, said in the report. "For example, workers are discussing the risk of recession less and less in Glassdoor reviews even as they discuss layoffs more and more."
In Glassdoor reviews, mentions of recession have fallen 10% year over year. Meanwhile, discussion of layoffs increased 60% year over year this month, the highest level since July 2020. Employees with a negative business outlook were more likely to mention layoffs than those with a positive outlook.
Health services and education saw the smallest declines in employee confidence, relative to other industries.