U.S. workers' confidence in their careers is now lower than it was at the height of the pandemic, according to LinkedIn's most recent Workforce Confidence survey.
LinkedIn's market research team surveyed 34,637 U.S. professionals from Dec. 30, 2023 to July 12, 2024, scoring their confidence on a scale from -100 to +100.
Workers' confidence in their ability to progress in their careers has declined since the start of 2024 and now sits at +24. This score is down from +28 in 2020 when COVID-19 spurred many workplaces to shut down, according to the report.
The decline has been especially pronounced among male workers this year, whose confidence in their careers dropped from +32 in January to +24 in July. Historically, men have reported higher confidence in their careers than women.
LinkedIn's analysts did not explain the reasons behind this year's drop in confidence, but factors such as a loosening labor market, decreasing worker engagement, and a growing trust gap between managers and employees may be contributing.
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