Latest Release: 2025 Q4

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

The ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Index fell 0.8 points in the third quarter of 2025, landing at 96.9 – a slight downtick from last quarter’s gains. The data highlights an encouraging trend: even as job seekers recognize challenges in the labor market, their confidence in their own ability to navigate it continues to grow.

Financial Wellbeing Index

Self-reported financial well-being picked up to levels not seen since early 2024

⇧ 1.0

Expectations Index

Job seeker optimism about the medium-term labor market dropped sharply, to the lowest level on record

Preparedness Index

Job seekers’ confidence in navigating the job search process rose to a record high

⇩ 12.0

⇧ 4.1

Present Situation Index

Job seekers’ assessments of current labor market conditions fell, offsetting Q3’s gains

⇩ 1.7

Job seekers have low expectations for the labor market

The macroeconomic environment has impacted the job seeker experience, as employers take a more cautious approach amid mixed economic signals. Job seekers in ZipRecruiter’s Job Seeker Confidence Survey have the least optimistic outlook on the market since the survey began in early 2022 with the Expectations Index at its lowest point in Q4. The Expectations Index measures how job seekers think the job market will fare over the next six months. This time around, 39.5% of job seekers anticipate a decrease in the number of available jobs over the next six months.

This comes as a growing divide has emerged between job seekers who see the current market as having plenty of available jobs and those who do not. 

But job seekers are feeling confident about their own prospects

This pessimism doesn’t appear to extend beyond the market itself. Despite the external outlook, job seekers are feeling more confident than ever in their own abilities to navigate the job market. 

The Preparedness Index is at an all-time high since 2022 in Q4. 

Despite uncertainty about the market overall, a higher share of job seekers are feeling good about their overall job search (18.4% vs 17.4%). And the highest-ever share since ZipRecruiter began this survey in 2022 are "completely confident" they will find a job within the next month (27.3%). High confidence in personal job search outcomes seems to be tied to the use of technological resources, like AI chatbots, in preparing for the job search. One in three (33.6%) job seekers who used AI in any capacity in their search were “completely confident” they would find a job within a month, versus only one in five (20.3%) who did not use AI. 

While this finding may be surprising given the slow hire environment, the uptick in job search satisfaction and confidence is likely tied to the higher number of offers job seekers are receiving in Q4. For the first time since the survey began in 2022, nearly half of job seekers (48.6%) received an offer within the last month. And with more offers, comes more selectivity - as more than half of job seekers who have received an offer (52.1%) report rejecting a job offer, which is the highest recorded value since 2022. Recent headlines highlight the persistent challenges job seekers face in finding employment in a market where employers have been more cautious with hiring. But this survey illustrates the competitive landscape employers face in finding quality candidates – the highest ever share (4.4%) of job seekers report receiving 4+ offers since the survey began in 2022.

Job seekers’ non-negotiables

As job seekers approach their decision-making process, they are making their demands clear. This selectivity is driven by non-negotiable priorities. Pay remains the top factor that matters most to job seekers now with one third (33.3%) putting it as the number one priority. Flexibility (22.0%) remains the second priority, and job security (19.0%) sits in third place.

Pay is definitely a driving factor for job search behavior in Q4. 44.2% of job seekers who quit their last job left due to low pay in Q4 – up from 31.0% in Q3. On the other hand, according to ZipRecruiter’s recent Annual Employer Survey, half of employers (49.9%) report increasing pay for existing workers across 2025. But the 45.8% of employers who kept pay flat likely saw more employees turn to new opportunities towards the end of the year. It appears that job seekers are becoming more in tune with their pay expectations in job searches as 2025 comes to an end.

Rising confidence gives way to more negotiating power

The focus on pay and increased selectivity are contributing to a slight lift in overall financial comfort. While pay drove quits, it was less of a reason to reject an offer than in previous quarters. Perhaps this is because the vast majority (70.2%) of job seekers are discussing salary by the end of the first interview, ensuring the jobs they are pursuing match their expectations. Salary transparency can help align expectations and create opportunities for better matches to occur among job seekers and employers. Over two thirds of employers believe that adding pay information to job postings helps the company find quality candidates.

With a rise in pay transparency and more workers leaving their roles due to low pay, expectations that they can find a better offer out in the market are up, leading to the slight rise in the Financial Wellbeing Index. As more job seekers report receiving offers, and more offers at that, they are gaining more footing to tip the balance of the labor market back in their favor. More job seekers are “completely confident” that they would negotiate an offer (28.0% vs 25.3% in Q3) or are willing to wait to see if something better comes along (29.5% vs 25.8% in Q3). The increased confidence in fighting for the best offer among job seekers further supports the narrative that the current job market is no walk in the park for employers, despite rising unemployment. Competition for top talent will remain tight as the labor force continues to transform.

Some job seekers are feeling more financially comfortable – with the highest share of job seekers reporting feeling “somewhat” or “very” comfortable financially since early 2022 (29.6%).  But the current macroeconomic environment is not lost on the rest of the job seeker pool. Compared to last quarter, more job seekers feel financially pressured to take the first offer they receive (61.3% vs 60.3% in Q3). But with more offers coming in the door, job seekers still have some choosing power.

Instead, location, flexibility, and benefit offerings convinced more job seekers to reject offers in Q4 than Q3.

AI can help the job search 

but only if human connection remains central

Part of the preparation and rise in confidence might be due to the rise in AI use during the job search. A higher share of job seekers used AI to draft and tailor resumes and cover letters, as well as  prepare for interviews, compared with Q3 – showing job seekers are narrowing in on how AI can help unlock their potential. Much like how the internet transformed the job search process and boosted confidence for job seekers in the past few decades, AI is positioning itself as a defining factor for the job search of the future.

“Job seekers are leaning into AI to help prepare themselves for the job search ahead, which is translating into higher confidence. As AI continues to transform the hiring space on both sides of the market, job seekers are drawing a clear line: they don’t want AI replacing the human connection that’s central to hiring.”
— Nicole Bachaud, ZipRecruiter Labor Economist

But the switch to an AI powered job search will not happen overnight. While more job seekers are using AI for their search and preparation, they are conflicted on their feelings about encounters with AI use from potential employers. Fewer than one third of job seekers say encounters with AI in their recruitment processes have been at least somewhat positive. Job seekers have the best experiences when AI is used to speed up and automate processes – like scheduling interviews (33.9% have had at least a “somewhat” or “very” positive experience with AI). It’s clear that job seekers are wary about AI cutting out the human component in hiring. When AI was used to conduct or review video interviews, less than a quarter of job seekers (24.1%) had at least a “somewhat” or “very” positive experience, and 20.2% had a “somewhat” or “very” negative experience. 

The top pain point reported by current job seekers is never hearing back from an employer (40.0%). Given this is a top issue experienced by job seekers, there is a lot of potential for AI to have a positive impact, possibly through something like automated update messages. Letting candidates know where they are at in the hiring funnel, and if they are not moving forward to the next stage, could address this major pain point that impacts four in ten job seekers. Almost half (47.4%) of job seekers say they have been ghosted by an employer during their current search –  and it’s happening at all stages of the hiring process. Notably, 43.1% of job seekers who were ghosted say it happened after a formal first round interview was conducted. Sending a message, automated or otherwise, can improve the candidate experience by keeping them informed and making them feel like their time is valued and respected. 

AI fuels the generational divide

Overall, older job seekers are more concerned with AI’s influence in the job search. Job seekers aged 65 and older were the age group who is most concerned about AI introducing more bias into the job search, dehumanizing the process, and increasing the chance they will be automatically rejected. 

Interestingly, older (aged 65+) job seekers are more averse to using AI than their new hire counterparts. In ZipRecruiter’s Q3 New Hire Survey – new hires aged 65 and older were the most likely age group to use AI for their roles on a daily or weekly basis (52.9% vs. 20% or less for all other age groups). Perhaps AI use helps to unlock more opportunities for older workers as they reengage with a rapidly changing workforce. Resources aimed at bringing older workers up to speed on how to effectively engage with AI in the job search and workforce could help bridge the gap. Despite falling labor force participation rates for the population 65 and older, the number of workers is rising – meaning the challenges faced by this group are not going away any time soon. 

However, older job seekers aren’t the only ones who are down on the inclusion of AI. Job seekers aged 18-24 were the age group most likely to have had a “very negative” experience with AI during their job search across the board. This could be due to higher exposure rates of AI for younger job seekers, who are more in tune with where AI shows up in their daily lives. But it shows that the younger workforce has a high degree of scrutiny with how they assess the job market and potential employers. Younger job seekers had more negative experiences with AI in the hiring process when it was replacing the human connection. When AI was used to conduct or review video interviews, over a quarter (28.3%) job seekers aged 18-24 reported having a “somewhat” or “very” negative experience. 

Early- to mid-career aged job seekers, aged 25-44, were the most likely age groups to have a “very positive” experience with AI. These early- to mid-career job seekers have been in the workforce longer than emerging talent – enough to have seen many of the pain points that AI tools can help solve. But also are more open to changing practices than their older peers. As early- to mid-career workers move to become the base of the labor market, employers will see more appetite for change and growth in the way AI shapes the hiring process.

The future of hiring: Younger workers’ vision

This generational shift in perspective extends to the very basics of the job application process. Younger and mid-career job seekers are utilizing AI to search for jobs, draft resumes and cover letters, prepare for interviews, and research salary information. They are using the tools available at their disposal to become more informed and better prepared candidates. 

As younger workers take up a bigger stake in the labor force, hiring practices will continue to be reshaped. Even something fundamental to the current hiring process, like a traditional resume, will likely be transformed in the coming years. Around one in five job seekers (19.5%) believe the traditional resume is ineffective in representing their skills to a potential employer. Younger job seekers believe that video introductions, work portfolios, and skills assessments could be more effective at portraying their skills to employers. Job seekers aged 18-24 were the most likely group to see potential with video introductions (20.9% believe this could better represent their skills to employers), and job seekers aged 25-34 were keen on skills assessments (54.8%) and portfolios (41.4%). These younger workers want to show what they can do. Older job seekers were more likely to see value in more traditional methods of displaying skills, like structured questionnaires about past accomplishments.

What it all means: 

Rising confidence amid a pessimistic outlook

In conclusion, the Q4 2025 ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Survey presents a labor market defined by a striking paradox: even as job seekers feel pessimistic about the market's future, many remain well-prepared and confident about their own job search.

This internal strength among job seekers translates into real-world selectivity. Job seekers are not only feeling more confident in their skills, but they are also keying in on what matters most, and are less willing to compromise, leading to record high offer rejection since 2022. 

The rise of AI further highlights the key differences in how job seekers across age groups are preparing for the future of the labor market. More job seekers leverage AI tools to get better prepared, while simultaneously signaling their demands for employers to maintain a crucial human connection in the hiring process. These trends illustrate that while the current labor market is challenging for job seekers, employers are also in the thick of it, vying for top talent who are slowly regaining their negotiating power.

The Survey

The quarterly ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Survey is based on an online sample and conducted for ZipRecruiter by PureSpectrum. It is administered to 1,500+ job seekers between October 22nd and November 4th and 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.