CNBC | Sunday, October 19, 2025 
60% of U.S. workers don’t have a ‘quality job,’ according to new research: The results are ‘sobering’

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:

1. Financial well-being, such as fair pay that meets their basic needs to reduce financial stress.
2. Workplace culture and safety, as in a safe and respectful environment free of harassment.
3. Growth and development opportunities, where workers have a clear path to build skills and gain experience to advance in their career.
4. Agency and voice, where workers have decision-making power in their working conditions, like pay and use of technology.
5. Work structure and autonomy, where workers have a stable, predictable schedule and control over when and how their work gets done. –

   Where the quality jobs are…Read more