American workers are stuck in place because everyone is too afraid of a recession to quit (2024)

A 24-year-old employee working in histology named Amanda, who spoke with Business Insider, is one such worker who feels that way. She's choosing to stay in her current role as there are limited offerings in her field, and switching employers would likely lead to her pay being cut by at least a third.

"I feel trapped here," Amanda said. "I'm financially screwed if I leave, and that's why I don't, or can't leave."

Americans have long grumbled about their feelings of being stuck in an unsatisfying role, but the feeling appears to be growing: Americans are quitting their jobs at the slowest pace since the pandemic, with the quits falling to just 2.1% in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Yet, job satisfaction fell across 26 measures in the past year, per an annual survey from the Conference Board.

Google search interest for the search phrase "quitting job" is down 11% over the last year, according to data accessed from the search analytics tool Glimpse.

"Stuck at work," meanwhile, is becoming a more common search term, with interest rising 9% in the past year.

Membership on the subreddit r/hatemyjob has more than doubled over the past two years, with users on the community growing 30,000-strong as of August, up from 14,7000 in 2022, according to historical data from the analytics site SubredditStats.

"Stuck at a job," one user on the subreddit posted. "I'm no longer fond of the work I do. I feel stuck because of the money. It's a good problem to have, I suppose."

"I'm just so done with this job. I've tried everything to stick it out but now I just can't do it anymore," another user wrote, adding that they had been looking for a job related to their degree for over a year. The search hasn't been successful, they said, citing "tough" conditions in the job market.

"I want to quit this job so badly but I can't afford it."

Recession fears loom large

Workers have typically hunkered down when the economy slows, with recessions often tied to plunges in the quits rate, historical data from the Fed shows.

The economy hasn't fallen into a recession but fears of a coming downturn are growing. In markets, investors panicked last week, sparking a huge sell-off after July payrolls were lower than expected, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.3%.

Most Americans now believe the economy is in a recession, a recent Affirm survey found, despite GDP continuing to grow over the second quarter.

Google search interest in the term "recession" has exploded 230% over the past month, Glimpse data shows.

"I wouldn't say that we're in a recession or anything," Raymond Lee, the CEO of the career outplacement firm Careerminds told BI. "I would say, though, that, just from my perspective, I think a lot of people are staying put in their jobs because I think that there is a lot of uncertainty … People are trying to stay where they are and not make any big moves."

Korn Ferry, a consultancy that offers career transitioning and outplacement services, said it had seen an increase in inbound calls from job seekers. That's the opposite of what the firm saw during the post-pandemic hiring boom — and it's a solid sign the "engine is slowing down," according to Radhika Papandreou, the president of Korn Ferry's North American arm.

In general, clients are taking longer to secure new roles and appear to be prioritizing job security, Papandreou said.

"People are also hesitant to leave their jobs to look at other jobs unless they feel like they're going to get something that's secure and for a long time," she added. "There's a little bit of, 'I don't want to be last in, first out.'"

Job market forecasters say the slowdown in hiring looks poised to continue, even if the Fed begins to loosen monetary policy. Only 15% of small businesses said they were planning on adding new jobs in July, according to the latest survey from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, down from a peak of over 30% recorded several years ago.