The Job Market Is So Bad Right Now It's Looking Like The Pandemic

Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 8:46 AM 3 min read

The job market has been more challenging in recent months, but new findings from The Conference Board indicate that job prospects are just as bad now as they were during the pandemic. The board's Consumer Confidence Survey found that 20% of consumers said jobs were "hard to get," which is up from 18.9%.

The board acknowledged in its Employment Trends Index that the 20% figure is the highest since early 2021, right when lockdowns limited new job opportunities.

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The Conference Board Employment Trend Index offered several details that explain why the job market is bad. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows that job openings continue to fall. They dropped by 176,000 in July after falling by 355,000 in June. President Donald Trump's tough immigration stance has reduced the number of workers, and The Conference Board Economist Mitchell Barnes cited tariffs as another factor that can push job numbers down.

"Layoffs and unemployment remain low as companies navigate through continued uncertainty," Barnes said. "But tariff pressures are expected to intensify, raising inflation and reducing consumption, which could restrain activity and dampen future hiring."

Fewer job opportunities also come at a time when 32% of small firms report that they are not able to fill job opportunities right now. That's a slight decrease from 33% in July and 36% in June, but it demonstrates that many small businesses can't find workers.

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The Conference Board found that initial claims for unemployment insurance increased slightly in August and were close to their May levels. The research also includes people who begrudgingly took part-time jobs because they were laid off from full-time employers. The share of these workers makes up close to 17% of the workforce.

"While the labor market remained resilient over much of this year, six of eight ETI components were negative in both July and August for the first time since November 2024," Barnes said. "This potentially marks a turning point, where business activity is slowing more materially to reflect softer business confidence levels."