Half of Working Adults Worried About Losing Their Jobs

October 23, 2020

More than half of working adults are concerned about losing their jobs in the next 12 months. However, two-thirds of workers believe they can learn the skills needed for the jobs of the future through their current employer, according to a new global survey.

The World Economic Forum-Ipsos survey of more than 12,000 working adults in 27 countries found that 54 percent are worried about losing their jobs in the next year. But that perceived job insecurity varies widely across countries, ranging from a high of 75 percent of respondents from Russia to a low of 26 percent for Germany.

Globally, 67 percent of employed adults surveyed say they can learn and develop the skills needed for future jobs through their current employer. This ranges from a high of 86 percent for respondents in Spain to 45 percent of those in Japan.

Where does the U.S. stand? While 36 percent of respondents fear for their jobs, the majority (76 percent) believe their current employer will help them retrain. That’s a 40-point gap between the number of people who believe they can gain new skills on the job and those fearful of losing their current job—a tie with Germany and well above the next-largest gap of 29 points for the Netherlands. Meanwhile, in Russia, a much larger percent of respondents say they fear for their jobs than believe they can acquire the new skills they need (75 percent to 48 percent, respectively).

About the study: 12,430 employed adults were surveyed by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, 2020, in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

Source: World Economic Forum