It’s not an easy time to be on the hunt for work—applicants are up against “ghost jobs,” AI’s workforce takeover, and a sluggish hiring cycle. It’s forced some job-seekers to apply to thousands of postings, or perform elaborate stunts to get the attention of employers. Now, professionals’ belief in their ability to bounce back after a layoff has fallen to a worrying low.
The average perceived probability of finding a job if one’s current role was lost fell to 43.1% in December 2025, a 4.2% drop from the year before, according to recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
