Workforce Confidence Index · Wave 14 · Executive Summary Preview
Industry Outlook Improves as Job Security Softens
September reversed August almost point for point. Industry confidence recovered — 32% are very or extremely confident in their sector’s 12-month outlook, up from 28% — while job security fell to 51% from 56% and career movement jumped to 34% from 26%. Workers feel better about their industry and less settled in their own roles. Inflation and rising costs moved into the top threat position, and confidence in federal policy support remains weak.
Industry Confidence · Next 12 Months
“Considering your specific industry sector, how confident are you in its overall economic outlook for the next 12 months?”
Industry confidence improved in September. Thirty-two percent reported being very or extremely confident, up four points from August, while another 37% were somewhat confident. Uncertainty has not gone away — 31% still report low confidence, pointing to inflation and rising costs, economic slowdown or recession, and government policy uncertainty as the leading industry concerns.
Industry Confidence Trend · June → September
Share very or extremely confident in their sector’s 12-month outlook.
September recovered most of August’s drop, returning sector outlook to roughly where it sat in early summer.
Leadership Confidence
Confidence is now strongest closest to the worker. Executive leadership gave back the gain it made in August, falling five points, while department and team leadership rose and direct managers held steady — leaving the executive tier the least trusted of the three for the first time in the series.
Job Security & Personal Finances
Job security softened in September, down five points from 56% in August. Personal financial confidence was essentially unchanged at 46%, with 17% feeling extremely confident about the next six months.
Personal Financial Outlook · Next 6 Months
Full distribution of financial confidence in Wave 14.
Personal finances were the steadiest measure in Wave 14 — the only headline number that barely moved while industry outlook, job security and career intent all shifted.
Institutional Trust Ranking
Mean rank shown below. Lower mean = more trusted.
The order held for another wave. Company leadership and industry trade associations remain the two most trusted institutions, business media covering their sector ranks a clear third, and the federal government remains last. Three-quarters of respondents — 75% — place business media in their sector among their top three trusted sources.
Where Workers Go for Industry Information
Trust in industry-specific publications, Wave 14.
Industry-specific publications remain the most trusted news source by a wide margin. Trust is considerably lower across broader media channels.
Views on Regulation & Federal Policy
Views remain largely negative, but every measure moved in a more favourable direction this wave.
Majorities still disagree that regulation is transparent, consistently applied or grounded in industry expertise — but disagreement eased on all three measures, and agreement rose on all three of the positive statements. Confidence in federal policy support remains the weakest reading on the page: 20% report a fair amount or great deal of confidence, against 61% with little or none.
Career Movement · May → September
Career movement rebounded sharply. 34% are actively job hunting, planning to start looking soon, or considering a move within the next year — up eight points from August’s series low of 26%, and back to the July level. Meanwhile 54% report no plans to change jobs, down from 60%. The shift tracks the softer job-security reading in the same wave.
Leading Industry Threats
Ranked by how frequently workers named each threat to their industry in Wave 14.
Inflation and rising costs overtook economic slowdown as the leading named threat in September, reversing the August order. Government policy uncertainty held third, while labor shortages eased.
Top Concerns in Their Own Roles
Recurring themes in open-ended responses to “What’s your number-one concern in your current role?”
AI is especially prominent this wave, appearing both as a direct job-security concern and as a broader source of uncertainty about how roles and teams may change.
In Their Own Words
Across industries, respondents describe a workplace shaped by rapid technological change, persistent cost pressure, policy uncertainty, staffing strain, and concern about organizational stability.
Participants
Wave 14 included feedback from 468 professionals across more than 20 industries in the United States, spanning leadership, management, technical, skilled-trade, sales, and administrative roles. As in earlier waves, the majority of participants hold management or leadership roles, from owners and senior executives to department heads and team leads.
Why It Matters
Wave 14 is close to the mirror image of Wave 13. In August workers were pessimistic about their industry but secure in their own jobs and disinclined to move. In September that flipped: sector outlook recovered four points, while job security fell five and the share considering a move rose eight. Confidence also moved down the hierarchy — executives lost ground while direct managers held. A workforce that reads its industry as improving while feeling less secure in its own seat is a workforce that starts looking around, and career intent moved first. Tracking confidence, institutional trust, career outlooks, AI concerns, and economic pressure over time helps organizations see those turns as they happen rather than afterward.