Employee Engagement Has Lost 8 Million Workers Since 2020
U.S. engagement has been flat for two years, but the five-year slide tells a different story. And it's not coming from where most organizations are looking.
Series
One Number
Single figures from the labor data, taken apart.
57 pieces
Productivity Grew 2.2% in 2025
The economy got more efficient last year. The gains didn't distribute evenly, and manufacturing is running in the opposite direction entirely.
Americans Spend 35 Minutes a Day Socializing
Down from 43 minutes a decade ago, and your workforce brought that deficit to work with them.
2025 Job Growth Was 181,000, Not 584,000
The labor market was 403,000 jobs weaker in 2025 than what was reported.
Producer Prices Rose 0.5% in January, Led By Services
Goods prices are falling. Services prices just posted their biggest monthly jump since July 2025. For managers in labor-intensive industries, the inflation story isn't over.
Benefits Now Cost Employers $13.58 Per Hour
For every dollar an employer spends on a private-sector worker, 30 cents never appears in a paycheck. That gap is growing.
Union Workers Earn 20% More
Private-sector unionization is at historic lows. The wage premium it commands is not.
Real Wages Rose 1.2%
Nominal pay looks healthy at 3.7%. Strip out inflation and add back the extra hours, and workers are running faster to stay in place.
Federal Employment Fell 10.9%
The government shed 327,000 positions since October 2024. That workforce doesn't disappear, it floods into private labor markets, and your hiring strategy probably hasn't adjusted for it.
Inflation Cooled to 2.4%
Overall prices are moving closer to the Fed's target, but shelter costs, which directly affect compensation decisions, remain elevated at 3.0% annually.
Job Postings Mentioning AI Hit 4.2%
Every sector is hunting for AI talent, but the jobs might not exist by the time candidates apply.
Job Openings Fell to 6.5 Million
The market lost 386,000 openings in one month and 966,000 over the year. Companies stopped posting jobs while workers stopped quitting. The labor market didn't cool, it froze.