Latest Release: 2025 Q3

The ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Survey

The ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Survey is a nationally representative quarterly survey of U.S. job seekers that measures how optimistic or pessimistic they are about their ability to land their preferred jobs. Increased confidence is typically an indicator of future increases in employee turnover, wage growth, and labor force participation.

Data Spotlight

⇧ 1.8

Expectations Index

Job seeker optimism for the medium-term labor market ticked up slightly but remains below the historical average

⇧ 1.1

Preparedness Index

Job seekers’ confidence in navigating the job search climbed to its highest level on record

⇧ 1.3

Financial Wellbeing Index

Self-reported financial well-being inched higher, holding near historical norms

⇧ 4.1

Present Situation Index

Job seekers’ assessments of current labor market conditions increased, returning to late 2023 levels

U.S. Job Seeker Confidence

The ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Index rose 2.1 points in the third quarter of 2025, reaching 97.7—the highest level since the start of 2024. Gains were broad-based, though a few groups saw declines: job seekers without a high school diploma continued their downward trend, while junior and mid-career professionals experienced moderate decreases.

These confidence gains come as the broader labor market shows mixed signals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs in July 2025, well below expectations, and prior months were revised down by a combined 258,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the hiring rate has slipped to 3.3% in June, while the quits rate (2.0%) and layoff rate (1.0%) both remain below historic averages. 

This contrast suggests that sentiment is being driven less by headline job numbers and more by workers’ sense of readiness, skill alignment, and access to new job search tools. In other words, job seekers increasingly believe they can navigate a cooling market, even if overall hiring momentum is weakening.

“Job seekers are showing remarkable resilience and optimism, even as headline job numbers soften. Their rising confidence reflects a growing belief in their own skills, adaptability, and ability to succeed in a changing economy.”

— Dave Travers, ZipRecruiter President

Job Seekers are Feeling More Prepared

While all the subindices rose, the Preparedness Index saw the strongest growth, rising 4.1% since last quarter. The increase reflects rising confidence among job seekers in both their skill readiness for desired roles and their ability to conduct an effective job search. AI adoption has been a major driver: overall use of AI in the job search process grew 6.4% over the past year, while use in core tasks surged even higher. The share of job seekers using AI to draft and refine resumes jumped 39%, while AI-assisted cover letter writing climbed 41%, and AI-based interview preparation rose 44%. 

Additionally, the use of AI tools that match candidates with the right opportunities—like ZipRecruiter’s AI career advisor, Phil—increased 30% in the past year. And the payoff is clear: job seekers who used AI in their search received twice as many offers on average, while only submitting 40% more applications.

The proliferation of job search tools has steadily boosted job seekers’ confidence in finding roles that align with their skills and interests. Confidence in securing these jobs climbed to a record high of 39.7% in Q3, while the share lacking confidence fell to a near record low of just 8.3%. Yet this optimism is uneven across industries. 

In fields where demand is strong, like Healthcare (48.7%), or where roles involve greater reliance on digital tools and widely transferable skills, such as Tech (45.6%) and Business Services (45.7%), confidence is well above average. By contrast, industries facing hiring slowdowns and technological disruption, like Finance (32.3%) and Insurance (25.0%), are seeing confidence lag behind. This divide highlights how technology adoption and hiring demand shape very different realities for job seekers—creating tailwinds in some industries while leaving others with growing uncertainty.

Job seekers’ confidence in having the right skills and experience for available roles has steadily strengthened. This quarter, a record 44.8% reported being completely confident in their abilities, while the share with no confidence at all fell to just 10.3%—the lowest in the survey’s history. Yet, with the youth unemployment rate at its highest level since late 2020, entry-level job seekers remain an outlier: they are around half as confident as the average in their skills and nearly twice as likely to doubt them. This gap highlights the risk of a growing divide between a strong labor market for experienced workers and a far tougher path for new entrants.

Job seekers are increasingly confident in their use of the right tools to find available jobs. In Q3, 31.3% reported being completely confident—a notable increase from 28.3% in Q1—while those not confident at all fell to 15.2%. This upward trend in confidence reflects both growing familiarity with job search tools—like ZipRecruiter’s ZipIntro —and the way these tools are adapting to the evolving job market.

Fewer Job Seekers Feel Discouraged 

Unlike Q2 of this year, which saw major gains in job seekers’ optimism, Q3’s shift is driven more by a decline in pessimism. The share of job seekers saying their search is going well has held steady (17.4% in Q3 vs. 17.1% in Q2), while the share reporting their search is going poorly has continued to fall, reaching 36.3% in Q3 from a recent peak of 41.8% in Q1. This suggests that while optimism has leveled off, discouragement is steadily easing.

Job seekers are also becoming less pessimistic about their ability to find a job quickly, with a lack of confidence dropping to a near-record low of 28.5% in Q3 2025, down from 34.6% in Q1. At the same time, the share who are completely confident inched upwards, narrowing the gap between the least and most confident job seekers to just 2.5 percentage points—a rare moment of balance in job search sentiment. This retreat from pessimism signals a shift in mindset: even though optimism has plateaued, fewer job seekers anticipate prolonged struggles.

Pessimism about the quality of available jobs has also declined. The share of job seekers not confident they could find a job they would like fell to 18.2%—the lowest since the start of the survey. This continues a decline that began in Q3 2024, representing a cumulative 23% drop. This suggests that fewer job seekers expect to settle for undesirable roles—an encouraging sign that confidence is spreading beyond just finding any job to finding the right job.

Confidence around hiring outcomes has also shifted. The share of job seekers who were not confident they would get hired if interviewed fell to 17.2%, down from the relatively steady 20–21% at the end of 2024. Unlike rising optimism, this reflects a steady erosion of outright doubt—fewer job seekers assume rejection is inevitable. Together with declining pessimism about job quality, this points to a broader easing of anxiety in the job search, pointing to a healthier balance between hiring demand and job seeker expectation.

Selectivity is Shaping Job Search Decisions

Though financial pressures to accept jobs remain, job seekers are becoming more selective in the positions they take. As the most recent New Hires Survey shows—with lower job satisfaction, more new hires continuing to look for work, and rising competition among employers for talent—many see their current role as shelter from the economic storm, but remain ready to jump ship when a better opportunity comes along.


This wait-and-see approach also extends to how job seekers handle offers. With growing confidence in their ability to find better opportunities, many are less willing to settle. Confidence in negotiating has steadily risen—from 23.9% in Q1 to 25.3% in Q3—signaling that more job seekers feel empowered to push for better terms rather than accept the first offer on the table.

More revealing is the rise in confidence around rejecting offers altogether. Confidence in turning down offers climbed to 25.8% in Q3, marking the first time since early 2024 that more job seekers felt confident saying no than not. And when they do walk away, the reason is clear: 35.8% cite insufficient pay, the highest share since the survey began. This underscores wage expectations are now central to job seekers’ selectivity.

The growing willingness to negotiate is increasingly tied to pay. Confidence in earning more in a new job rose from 27.6% in Q2 to 30.7% this quarter, nearing a record high. At the same time, pessimism around pay eased, with the share not confident in their ability to secure higher wages falling from 27.1% to 25.1%. Together, these shifts suggest that job seekers’ growing selectivity is being fueled not only by a readiness to wait for a role that’s a better fit, but by a stronger belief that better compensation is within reach.

Diverging Confidence in the Job Market

Job seeker sentiment in Q3 reveals that confidence is moving in very different directions depending on who you ask. Many working mothers are leaving the labor force, but those who remain are reporting higher confidence in their job prospects. Millennials and older Gen Z men, meanwhile, are struggling to keep their footing, and industries are dividing sharply between those buoyed by strong demand and those weighed down by policy and technological change. Together, these patterns highlight that the labor market’s outlook is far from uniform—confidence is increasingly shaped by personal circumstances and sector-specific pressures.

Working Moms’ Optimism Rises Despite Job Exodus 

Between January and June 2025, the labor force participation rate of women ages 25 to 44 with a child under five fell nearly three percentage points, from 69.7% to 66.9%, contributing to more than 212,000 women leaving the labor force over the period. Yet working mothers are more optimistic than nearly any other group: confidence is rising both in their skills and in their ability to secure better opportunities, especially around pay. Rather than retreating quietly, working moms are reshaping the conversation through their willingness to refuse offers—nearly a third that have turned down a job did so over pay, while one in five rejected roles due to office location or commute. The mothers who remain are not just confident they can get hired; they believe they can land jobs that fit both their career ambitions and their lifestyle needs.

Confidence Takes a Hit for Millennials and Older Gen Z Men

Millennial and older Gen Z men are increasingly finding that their college degrees no longer guarantee a hiring advantage—in fact, recent data shows their unemployment rate is now roughly the same as that of non‑grads, effectively erasing the traditional “degree premium”. AI and automation have further diluted the value of degrees, with 47% of recent graduates saying fewer jobs are available because of the prevalence of AI, according to ZipRecruiter’s 2025 Graduate Report. In a labor market where credentials are taking a back seat to on-the-job experience—especially in male-dominated sectors like tech or finance—this shift is shaking the confidence of men in their late 20s and 30s and highlighting how much the rules of entry-level, and even mid-career, hiring have changed.

Healthcare Optimism Rises While Trade Tensions and Economic Uncertainty Loom

Healthcare is emerging as a beacon in a shaky job market—adding 55,000 jobs in July 2025, well above its 12-month monthly average of 42,000, and accounting for approximately three-quarters of all private-sector job growth last month. This surge reflects persistent demand driven by population aging and the resilience of essential services, offering optimism for workers and policymakers alike.

Meanwhile, tariffs are injecting fresh uncertainty—elevating costs for imported goods and dimming consumer confidence—which in turn is squeezing profit margins and slowing sales. The pressure is particularly acute for retail and hospitality, where higher prices meet already cooling foot traffic, leaving businesses less able to absorb added costs and more vulnerable to shifts in consumer spending. 

Unemployment among 20- to 30-year-olds in tech-exposed jobs has risen almost 3 percentage points and uncertainty continues to loom around the economy. These forces underscore a bifurcated labor landscape—healthcare offers stability and optimism, while trade tensions and economic uncertainty fuel caution in other sectors.

Additional Key Insights: 

  • Job seekers are prioritizing work/life balance and job security over career growth - Outside of pay (37%), flexibility (23%) and  job security (13%) are the top priorities for job seekers in their next roles, with career growth lowest among their priorities at just 10%.

  • In an uncertain market, job seekers are leaning on side hustles - 1 in 4 job seekers already is and/or plans to maintain a side hustle or freelance work alongside a full-time job and an additional 22% of job seekers are considering starting a side hustle or freelance work.

  • Layoff fears are still real for many job seekers - Job seekers think they have a 1 in 5 chance of being laid off in the next 6 months, with remote (25%) & hybrid (23%) workers fearing layoffs more than their in-person (11%) counterparts. 

  • As geopolitical issues rise, job seekers worry it could impact their job search - 71% of job seekers are concerned that recent geopolitical issues could negatively affect their job search. 

The Survey

The quarterly ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Survey is based on an online sample and conducted for ZipRecruiter by PureSpectrum. It was administered to 1,500+ job seekers between July 11th and July 26th and is weighted to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Respondents may be employed, unemployed, or not currently in the labor force, but they must reside in the United States and plan to find a new job “in the next six months” in order to be included in the sample.

The ZipRecruiter Index

The overall ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Index comprises four subindices:

  • The Preparedness Index measures how confident job seekers feel about their job skills, education, and training, as well as about their job search skills—that is, their ability to find relevant positions, develop application materials, and interview effectively.

  • The Financial Wellbeing Index measures job seekers’ financial security—that is, whether they have peace of mind about their ability to meet their financial needs, or whether they are searching for work and negotiating job offers under financial pressure.

  • The Expectations Index captures job seekers’ short-term outlook for labor market conditions. It is based on questions about whether job seekers expect the number of available jobs to increase or decrease.

  • The Present Situation Index is based on job seekers’ assessment of current labor market conditions. It is based on questions about whether they expect to get interviews, find a job easily, and get the job they want, and how satisfied they are with their job search.