A majority, 60%, of U.S. workers don’t have a “quality job” that provides basic financial well-being, safety and other factors, according to new Gallup research that covers more than 18,000 workers across industries, occupations and types of employment.
“The top line results are definitely sobering,” says Maria Flynn, president and CEO of Jobs for the Future, which helped lead the research. “While the labor market is creating jobs, not enough of those jobs are really allowing workers to thrive.”
Researchers defined a quality job as one that meets the minimum thresholds across three out of five dimensions:
Industries with the highest share of quality jobs are in professional services, financial activities and wholesale trade. Workers are less likely to have quality jobs if they’re in leisure and hospitality, retail trade and warehousing.
Just 40% of workers have a job that the study defines as a quality job. That’s concerning given people with quality jobs are more likely to report feeling satisfied with their lives, health and happiness, in addition to feeling better about their jobs.
