Record high number of Americans now fear losing their jobs
Every day the jobless recovery seems to continue its surge鈥� especially the jobless part. Now, according to Gallup, about 21 percent of the US workers who actually remain employed believe it鈥檚 鈥渧ery鈥� or 鈥渇airly鈥� likely they鈥檒l get fired or downsized within the next year. That鈥檚 the highest level since Gallup began gathering the data back in 1975.
According to Gallup:
鈥淔urther reflecting today鈥檚 lack of job security, 38% of Americans employed full- or part-time say they are 鈥榥ot at all likely鈥� to lose their jobs over the next year 鈥� down 19 points from April 2007, and by far the lowest level of self-professed job security Gallup has measured since 1975.
鈥淢any Could Not Replace Their Current Jobs
鈥淎merican workers are not optimistic about replacing their current jobs if they are laid off: 42% say they would be 鈥榲ery鈥� (16%) or 鈥檚omewhat鈥� (26%) likely to find another job 鈥榡ust as good as the one [they] have now.鈥� This is down from 64% in April 2007 and 70% in April 2001鈥�
鈥溾�oday, Americans are feeling particularly vulnerable if they lose their job. Many don鈥檛 think they can replace their current job with one just as good. Also, nearly half can鈥檛 go more than a month without a paycheck before encountering significant financial hardship.鈥�
Americans aren鈥檛 feeling secure about their current jobs, they aren鈥檛 confident they could replace their work if lost, and they can鈥檛 afford to be out of work for very long without suffering financial hardship. It鈥檚 just about the worst combination one could imagine from the pool of workers that are still able to clock in on a daily basis.
You can see several charts highlighting this information and read more details in Gallup鈥檚 coverage of how .
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