Job seekers have officially reached their breaking point.
After a year of poor hiring and increasingly demoralizing job searches, many people are simply not up to the challenge of finding a new job.
A December survey of 1,504 U.S. workers by job platform Monster found that just 43% said they were planning to look for a job in 2026, down from 93% last year.
Monster career expert Vicki Salemi said there were “quite signs of optimism” about job prospects in 2025, comparable to levels seen during the Great Retirement. Many workers said the rising cost of living is causing them to look for new jobs with higher salaries, she added.
But while workers continue to feel economic stress this year, they are not optimistic about their ability to land new jobs, let alone land higher-paying jobs.
As one economist put it, the United States is in an “employment recession,” with 2025 expected to be the worst year for overall job growth outside of a recession since 2003, CNBC reported.
The overall pessimism is causing people to remain in their current jobs for fear of facing a difficult job market, also known as job hugging.
A slim majority, 52%, of respondents to the Monster survey expect layoffs nationwide to increase in 2026. About 40% of workers expect the job market to worsen in 2026, and a further 40% don’t think the job market will improve at all.
Meanwhile, another October 2025 Monster Report found that about 75% of employees said they planned to stay in their current jobs until 2027.
Workers are leaving the job market but are starting side jobs
With the job market not open, workers (about half of whom say their wages have not kept pace with inflation) are turning to other sources of income to inflate their incomes.
Nearly two-thirds of workers say they’re turning to additional sources of income this year, 32% already have a side hustle and 30% plan to start one in 2026, according to the Monster survey.
Salemi says workers are prioritizing job security and income protection in their day jobs, “so they’re quietly starting side jobs. They’re upskilling and pursuing new skills. They’re being more selective about their job searches.”
Salemi added that if the market outlook improves, the side hustle boom could lead to more people changing jobs throughout the year. People with a side hustle can open up new opportunities, break into different industries, build connections, and potentially turn a passion project into a new full-time role, she says.
Workers are not losing motivation to work, they are “playing the long game”
Even if you don’t feel empowered to change jobs, Salemi encourages you to make the most of your current employees’ resources. Take on different projects, look for opportunities to learn new skills, network with people within your company and industry, and talk to your manager about what it takes to get a raise or promotion.
For the roughly 4 in 10 people who are determined to find a new job this year, Salemi advises them to be more intentional and strategic about their job search to take advantage of fewer competitors. That means tailoring your resume to the job description, she says, including including strong keywords, highlighting transferable skills, and looking for where opportunities are located (such as in the medical field).
Despite the bleak employment outlook, workers are “not necessarily walking away from their careers,” Salemi said. “They’re basically playing the long game in terms of preservation and planning.”
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