Americans say they feel a high degree of job security at work, but more workers report feeling dissatisfied with the amount they are paid, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.
In the survey, conducted in October and released Tuesday, 69 percent of employed Americans say they have job security — including 33 percent who have a “great deal” of security and 36 percent who have a “fair amount” of security. That topline number remains unchanged from the results of a July 2022 survey, when 35 percent reported a “great deal” of security, and 34 percent reported a “fair amount.”
Similarly, in the October 2024 survey, 17 percent say they have “some” job security, 8 percent say they have “a little,” and 5 percent say they have none at all. In July 2022, 16 percent had “some,” 9 percent had “a little,” and 6 percent had no security at all.
Workers, however, report feeling less satisfied with their pay, when compared to a February 2023 survey.
Today, 30 percent of employed Americans say they are satisfied with how much they are paid, and 30 percent say they are not satisfied. In February 2023, 35 percent said they were satisfied with their pay, while 26 percent said they were not. Those who say they are “somewhat” satisfied has remained stable, with 41 percent in 2024 and 40 percent in 2023.
The vast majority of Americans who say they are dissatisfied with how much they are paid at work say their pay has not kept up with increases in the cost of living — with 80 percent pointing to that as a “major reason” for their dissatisfaction.
Americans who are not satisfied with their pay cite other “major reasons,” including 70 percent who say their pay is too low for the amount of work they do and 71 percent who say their pay is too low for the quality of the work they do.
Slightly more than half, 54 percent, of Americans who feel underpaid say a major reason is that they don’t earn enough to pay their bills.
While the U.S. economy has improved significantly since the height of the pandemic, the effects of high prices still linger today. Over the last two years, prices have increased by 5.9 percent, according to calculations by The Hill using consumer price index (CPI) data. At the same time, the Labor Department shows average hourly earnings have risen by 8.5 percent.
Since January 2021, however, prices are up by 20.2 percent, according to The Hill’s calculations, while the Labor Department data show hourly wages up 18.5 percent during that period.
The survey included 5,273 employed American adults and was conducted on Oct. 7 to Oct. 13, 2024. The margin of error is 1.7 percentage points.
