Survey reveals low employment levels, concerns about job search, and pay dissatisfaction.

• According to a New York Fed survey released Monday, 88% of those employed in the previous survey in March were still employed, which is the lowest percentage recorded since 2014.
• The percentage of people who anticipated losing their jobs increased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.4%, which is the highest recorded in the survey's history.

Despite workers' ongoing search for higher starting salaries, they are receiving lower job offers.

The rising unemployment rate is closely monitored by Wall Street and Fed policymakers for indications of the future direction of the U.S. economy.

In March, among those who were employed, 88% still had jobs, which is the lowest percentage recorded since 2014. Additionally, the percentage of those who expected to become unemployed increased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.4%, which is the highest recorded in the survey's history.

The number of people searching for a new job in the past four weeks increased to 28.4%, a 9% increase from the previous year and a new record since March 2014.

In 2023, satisfaction with wages dropped by 3.3 percentage points, while satisfaction with benefits fell by 8.7 percentage points and satisfaction with opportunities for promotion decreased by 9.3 percentage points. Women, those without a college degree, and respondents with household incomes less than $60,000 experienced the most pronounced declines in satisfaction with opportunities for promotion.

In the past four months, the typical wage offered for full-time jobs decreased slightly to $68,905, while the average "reservation wage," or the minimum amount workers would accept for a new job, rose to $81,147, an increase of about $2,500 from the previous year, but still below the record high set in the last survey.

The likelihood of working past age 62 increased by 2 percentage points among respondents, while the likelihood of working past age 67 also increased by 2 percentage points.