Gallup poll finds U.S. young adults less positive than older adults about local job prospects

Monday, May 11, 2026Business & MarketsWell-covered3 frames

Gallup's 2025 World Poll found that 43% of Americans ages 15 to 34 said it was a good time to find a job locally, compared with 64% of Americans ages 55 and older.
The 21-point gap between younger and older Americans' views of the job market was the largest among the 141 countries and territories Gallup surveyed.
The U.S. pattern differs from the broader global trend, where younger adults are generally more likely than older adults to say it is a good time to find a job locally.
Gallup reported global median results of 48% for adults ages 15 to 34 and 38% for adults 55 and older saying it was a good time to find a job locally.
Coverage of the poll says this marks a reversal from recent years, when younger Americans had generally been more optimistic about the job market than older Americans.
Gallup said it is uncommon for younger adults to be substantially less positive than the oldest age group about local job conditions; only five other places in the survey showed younger adults trailing older adults by at least 10 points.

How left and right are reading this

Both agree: The poll points to an unusual and significant break in how Americans are reading local job prospects: younger adults are notably less upbeat than older adults, reversing recent U.S. patterns and running against the broader global trend.
They split on: Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: whether the striking takeaway is age-based unevenness in job-market confidence within the United States, or the country's exceptional divergence from how age groups assess job prospects elsewhere.

Gallup's 2025 World Poll found that 43% of Americans ages 15 to 34 said it was a good time to find a job locally, compared with 64% of Americans ages 55 and older.
The 21-point gap between younger and older Americans' views of the job market was the largest among the 141 countries and territories Gallup surveyed.
The U.S. pattern differs from the broader global trend, where younger adults are generally more likely than older adults to say it is a good time to find a job locally.
Gallup reported global median results of 48% for adults ages 15 to 34 and 38% for adults 55 and older saying it was a good time to find a job locally.
Coverage of the poll says this marks a reversal from recent years, when younger Americans had generally been more optimistic about the job market than older Americans.
Gallup said it is uncommon for younger adults to be substantially less positive than the oldest age group about local job conditions; only five other places in the survey showed younger adults trailing older adults by at least 10 points.