More Americans are looking to switch jobs than at any point in the past decade, according to new Gallup data.¹ More than half of 20,000 U.S. workers surveyed in November said they were watching for or actively seeking a new job, but they’re faced with what’s being described as a “low-hire, low-fire” job market.²

While businesses are holding on to their existing workforce, making it less likely employees will lose their jobs, it also may be hard for job seekers to land a new gig as employers pull back on hiring. LinkedIn’s most recent data shows a broad slowdown, with hiring decreasing across all industries from September to October of 2024 and by 8.5% year-over-year.³

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate — which was 4.1% in December — is near historical lows dating to the late 1940s.⁴ The layoff rate in November was also at its lowest since the early 2000s, when record keeping began, and has shown little movement since 2021.⁵ At the same time, the rate at which Americans are quitting their jobs was down 0.3% in November compared to the same time last year.⁶

The result? Americans are staying put in their current jobs for longer. Whether they want to or not is a different story. 

Overall satisfaction and intent to leave, among U.S. employees

Itching to switch

The Gallup survey shows job satisfaction is at its lowest in years, with only 18% of Americans saying they’re really happy in their jobs — that’s down 20% from a year ago and 28% from a decade ago.⁷ Hiring has slowed since the pandemic, and the feeling of being stuck is fueling dissatisfaction. Smaller raises, fewer promotions, and more return-to-office mandates are spurring respondents’ discontent, according to the survey. Plus, raises are projected to shrink further in 2025, to 3.7% on average, from 3.8% in 2024.⁸

Easier said than done

Not too long ago, those employees could act on their dissatisfaction by finding a new job with relative ease — and better pay. Now, competition is fiercer than ever before: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job seekers can expect their job hunt to take almost 6 months on average.⁹ What’s more, a Pathrise report showed that, in 2024, the average job seeker had to send 294 job applications before landing a job — a 14% increase from 2023.¹⁰

According to Pew Research, workers are now much more likely than in 2022 to say it would be difficult for them to get the kind of job they’d want if they were to look for a new one.¹¹

Almost 3.1 million people quit their jobs in November, around 451,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.¹² Workers are staying put, but they aren’t all happy about it — new research shows young and lower-income workers are among the least satisfied with their jobs.¹³

Over the past year, LinkedIn has rolled out a range of AI tools to aid those looking to make a change, helping job seekers write or update their resume, cover letters, and messages to hiring managers. LinkedIn’s AI-powered job-assessment tool — available now to premium subscribers and in early 2025 to everyone else —identifies listings for which job seekers would be a top applicant.