US Jobs “Plentiful”
US Jobs “Plentiful” stood at 23.6% in Sep 2026. It is one of the indicators in the Consumer confidence (Conference Board) table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Dec 2009 to Sep 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Consumer confidence (Conference Board) table
| Indicator | 09-2026 | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present situation assessment (% of respondents) | |||||||||||
| Current Employment: "Plentiful" | 23.6 | 24.5 | 24.4 | 25.5 | 24.8 | 26.9 | 27.4 | 26.7 | 25.8 | 27.5 | |
| Current Employment: "Hard to Get" | 21.9 | 20.3 | 21.7 | 21.7 | 19.8 | 19.4 | 21.3 | 21 | 19 | 19.1 |
Understanding US Jobs “Plentiful”
This indicator represents the share of respondents who view current jobs as "plump", thereby describing the perceived ease of finding employment from the consumer's perspective. It does not count job openings, employed individuals, or newly hired workers. Unlike the share considering jobs "hard to find", this represents the favorable extreme of responses and excludes intermediate assessments. Compared to the present situation index, its scope is restricted to the labour market and excludes business conditions.
When this rate rises while the "hard to find" rate falls, signals regarding labour market sentiment become clearer; if both fluctuate asymmetrically, shifts within the neutral group must be noted. Month-on-month comparisons are useful for detecting recent hiring changes, while year-on-year comparisons help limit the impact of seasonal jobs, academic schedules, and holidays. Perceptions of job availability may lag or lead actual labour statistics, depending on how quickly the public recognizes changes. Because this is a survey, trends should be read rather than definitive conclusions drawn from a single month.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a plentiful jobs reading mean the unemployment rate is certainly low?
- Not entirely. This is a perception of job availability, whereas unemployment is determined by different concepts and sampling methods.
- Why might this ratio drop during the hiring season?
- Job structure, position quality, layoff news, or job seeker expectations can worsen sentiment.
- What series should this indicator be paired with?
- The "hard to get" jobs share shows the opposing side, while industry employment data helps verify actual developments.