The US labor force, now 163 million strong, faces a new period of moderate growth at just 0.5% annually. This marks a pivot from a worker-led to an employer-driven market, as unemployment reaches 4.4% – its highest since 2021 – and the rebound in workforce participation reaches a plateau. Combined with experimentation in AI labor replacement and lower employment rates for new graduates, the perception of a tightening market is taking hold. Partially as a result, flexible gig positions are comprising a greater portion of labor in the US, even among degree holders. Accompanying the gig economy’s explosive 34% growth between 2018 and 2023 is a re-evaluation of marketable skills, an evolution of the job search and a dampening of work-identity for younger generations.
The future now hinges on how brands position AI in the workplace and other narratives that influence worker autonomy and identity. Gen Z and Millennial workers’ expectations for value-alignment reflect their consumer preferences, and weigh heavily on both the brands they purchase from and the companies they’d like to work for. The biggest win awaits brands that boost worker agency and wellbeing via tech and values alignment.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Overview of the US job market and the underlying short-term and long-term economic trends
- The benefits of personal identity with work and how to foster it with employees
- Workers’ reactions to the encroachment of AI systems in the workplace, and how to best approach AI integration
- Return-to-office rollback of WFH is driving new consumption, commuting and care needs
- The state of the modern job search, and how employees, employers and job search brands are evolving
- Reasons for burnout and analysis of work issues that workers seek improvement on
- Market examples and analysis of recent innovations and campaigns
Technological and policy changes layer onto the diverse values and expectations of the US worker, providing opportunities for brands to both solve emergent issues and provide thought leadership for the road ahead.
Hiro Takemasa, Senior Consumer Lifestyles Analyst
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for working lifestyles
- Opportunities
- The trajectory of the US labor market is k-shaped: innovate for a diverse range of resource availability
- Lead with purpose to capture values-driven workers and consumers
- Monitor and solve for the evolving US working lifestyle
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size and forecast
- Consumers and the economic outlook
- Market factors
- The US labor market in late 2025 shows both resilience and constraints from both structural and short-term issues
- Labor force participation has almost recovered to pre-pandemic highs, but gains are uneven
- Graph 1: labor force participation rate, by gender, 2019-25
- Graph 2: seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate, by race and ethnicity, 2019-2025
- Weakening labor since the pandemic recovery may have long-term lifestyle adjustments
- Graph 3: unemployment and underemployment rates, 2019-25
- Graph 4: nonfarm job openings, hires and separation levels, 2018-25
- Educational attainment has lead to a surge in white collar occupations
- Graph 5: educational attainment by those aged 25-34, by year of approximate generation*
- Graph 6: employed persons aged 16+, by occupation, 1998-2023
- Gig work grows in importance
- Graph 7: “gig” workers, 2018 and 2023
- Anticipate and solve for the friction of rising RTO
- Graph 8: percentage of paid days working from home, 2020-24
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THE CONSUMER
- How Americans identify with their work
- More workers see higher purpose and social relevance in their work than those who see it as only a paycheck
- Graph 9: attitudes towards work, by currently and recently employed, 2025
- Autonomy, validation and purpose foster identity with work
- Gen Z identities are more personally rooted
- Time, effort and impact foster work identities
- Graph 10: attitudes towards work – % more/less than the average, by select demographics of the currently and recently employed, 2025
- Align conference activities with the shared social purpose of the attendees
- Graph 11: positive attitudes toward work – % more/less than the average, by job function, 2025
- Communicate shared values to workers who don’t feel it at their work
- Graph 12: “very important” to improve at work – % more/less than the average, by select demographics, 2025
- For those whose identities lie outside of work, frame convenience as enabling their true passion
- Graph 13: negative attitudes toward work – % more/less than the average, by primary job function, 2025
- Expectations of how AI will affect American workers
- Workers see AI systems as both a threat and opportunity
- The promise and inevitability (?) of AI contrasts with the unpredictability of tariff policies
- Graph 14: opinon of how AI and tariffs will impact careers and job quality and NET positive/negative impact, 2025
- Address the AI perception gap in workplaces
- Graph 15: opinon of how AI will impact careers and NET positive/negative impact, by primary job function, 2025
- Gen Z is positive about AI – except recent and soon-to-be graduates
- Graph 16: opinon of how AI will impact careers and NET positive/negative impact, by generation, 2025
- Graph 17: opinon of how AI will impact careers and NET positive/negative impact, by life event, 2025
- Anxiety about AI’s influence on job security may be spurring adoption
- Graph 18: attitudes towards AI in workplace, by generation, 2025
- Graph 19: attitudes towards AI in the workplace, by life event, 2025
- Both blue and white collar workers expect AI disruption
- Graph 20: attitudes towards AI in workplace, by primary job function, 2025
- Market AI functionality to match workers’ priorities
- Challenges and opportunities as US work arrangements change
- WFH remains high among certain demographics – anticipate and provide solutions for changes in work situations
- Graph 21: working situation, by select demographics, 2025
- Work from home lifestyles are often entrenched – help those making the return-to-office transition
- Demand for family, pet and other household care arrangements will rise with RTO
- Graph 22: how changes in working conditions from flex to fully onsite will impact employees, % more/less than the average, by select demos, 2025
- Graph 23: how changes in working conditions from flex to fully onsite will affect employees, % more/less than the average, by select demos, 2025
- Gen Z and Millennial are low-hanging fruit for downtown foodservice; older gens are a white space
- Graph 24: how changes in working conditions from flex to fully onsite will impact employees, by generation, 2025
- Fully onsite workers would prioritize essential activities if afforded WFH flexibility
- Graph 25: how changes in working conditions from fully onsite to flex will impact employees, 2025
- A change in work situation will trigger job searches for many
- Graph 26: how changes in working conditions from fully onsite to flex will impact employees, % more/less than the average, select demographics of fully onsite workers, 2025
- Graph 27: how changes in working conditions from flex to fully onsite will impact employees, % more/less than the average, select demographics of flex schedule workers, 2025
- The modern job search
- Job boards and networking remain the most successful, but AI-assisted platforms make headway
- Broad similarities between blue and white collar workers underscores a homogenization of the job search market
- Graph 28: most successful job search methods, by job category, 2025
- AI and tariffs feed the narrative of a slowing job market
- Job board brands evolve to address modern job search issues such as ghost jobs and scaling
- Recent grads face a job market that heavily values experience
- Graph 29: most successful job search methods, all consumers, 2025
- Workplace diversity, inclusion and belonging initiatives extend beyond employee recruitment and retention
- Graph 30: agreement – attitudes towards inclusion and belonging efforts in the workplace, 2025
- Address worker stress from the tightening job market
- Graph 31: attitudes towards work, % more/less than average, by select demographics of currently employed, 2025
- The scale of AI solutions are distorting the job market for both the employer and job searcher – anticipate and offer solutions for the shift
- Best practices to catch the attention of commuters
- More than two thirds of US workers commute at least half of the time
- Graph 32: work situation, by primary job function, 2025
- Digital generations are key mobile targets during commute hours
- Graph 33: activities while commuting, by generation, 2025
- Parents are typically more information-seeking than non-parents
- Graph 34: activities while commuting, by parental status and age group, 2025
- Commuting drives social media usage
- Graph 35: social media cites used daily, by commute status, 2025
- For the infrequent commuter, going into work can be an occasion
- Optimize and audit digital signage for the valuable commuter ad market
- Priorities for workplace improvements
- Employees see resources and job security as top concerns
- Graph 36: “very important” to improve at primary job, all currently employed, 2025
- Target job functions with solutions to their highest workplace priorities
- Use principles of work identity and relationships to combat burnout
- Burnout rates differ in reason and employment sector
- Graph 37: have experienced burnout, by primary job function, 2025
- Inconsistent work environments may be the underlying cause of burnout due to work-relationships
- Graph 38: have experienced burnout, by working situation, 2025
- Sell stability and clarity to flex workers
- Address employee wellness needs proactively, and with equity
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PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- Tech provides a view of and solves for holistic employee wellness
- Reach commuters with recent innovations in OOH
- Mintel Spark concept: WorkLife Navigator
- As soft skills gain importance in hiring, career coaching brands should leverage both AI and human expertise
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APPENDIX
- Report scope
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Other data source methodologies
- Mintel Spark
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation category, example professions
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