Job Anxiety is at an All-Time High — and Most Americans are Scared Stiff

A recent survey shows that 81% of American workers fear losing their jobs in 2025— the highest on record. One in three reports experiencing "layoff anxiety," and 89% are concerned about AI's growing impact on job security. However, new data from Sooth shows that among nearly 40 million Americans currently facing job insecurity, three out of four are taking few or no active steps to protect or replace their income, simply waiting for what they fear will be inevitable layoffs. Among those who do take action, nearly three times as many are betting on themselves instead of pursuing the traditional route of finding a new job: building multiple income streams and dreaming of starting a business. America's response to these unprecedented shifts in the employment landscape is likely to have a lasting impact on the future of its workforce.

‍

ELI's Crystal Ball — 5 Predictions for the U.S. Employment Market:

1. The Great Paralysis will persist through 2026. Three-quarters of employed Americans experiencing job insecurity will remain frozen despite knowing they need to change. The gap between awareness and action defines the modern employment crisis.
2. Gig work will bifurcate into "desperation" and "strategy" tracks by late 2026. Running Scared workers use gigs defensively (food delivery, ride-share) while Income Independence Seekers use them strategically as portfolio building blocks: same platforms, opposite mindsets.
3. "Side hustle" language evolves to "portfolio career" as traditional employment security becomes obsolete. By 2027, having multiple income streams will transition from an alternative lifestyle to a mainstream job security strategy.
4. Entrepreneurship will become the new job security by 2027. The 16.5% leading this shift today demonstrates that fear decreases through building autonomy (54% job fears) versus seeking better employers (72% job fears in Scared Stiff).
5. The traditional career path will be obsolete within two years. As fears of layoffs cause nearly 80% of employed Americans to panic and freeze, those with an entrepreneurial mindset will become highly sought-after across industries. Negative stereotypes about moonlighting or freelancing will shift, making diverse experience a valuable skill that commands a premium.

Employed Americans are Responding to the Uncertain Job Market in Three Ways:

Scared Stiff (77.6% | 30.9M Americans) Fear + Paralysis.

Nearly four in five workers who believe their jobs are at risk. 72% are doing little to nothing about it, lacking confidence in both the current job market and their ability to adapt to an economy rapidly being taken over by technology and innovation.

Running Scared (5.4% | 2.1M Americans) Defensive Hustle.

Workers fighting to maintain control through traditional employment safety nets. They're looking for jobs online, networking, and often supplementing their main occupation with a second or even third job.

Independence Seekers (16.5% | 6.6M Americans) Building Income Autonomy.

Workers creating their own security through entrepreneurship. 100% have entrepreneurial interest, 54% have job fears (lowest of all groups), 62% plan to start businesses. Building options, not looking for employers.

‍

About Sooth & ELI

Sooth is the predictive intelligence company decoding the 93% of human decisions driven by emotional, practical, and situational needs. Powered by ELI — Sooth's exclusive Emotional Logic Interface — Sooth uncovers hidden signals, turning audience behavior into predictive foresight. Sooth's patent-pending methodology uses artificial intelligence to cross-reference more than 100 million intent signals with data on 300 million individuals worldwide to predict buyer tendencies with 91% predictive accuracy. For more information, visit soothbetold.com and eliwashere.ai.