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The share of US workers who are “thriving” has fallen to a record low

The present and future appear less positive for many Americans.

11/22/24 10:40AM

In January 2009, when the Great Recession had upended the everyday working lives of millions of Americans, Gallup started measuring the well-being of US employees with its Life Evaluation Index. Over 15 years later, the results look bleaker than ever.

T̶H̶R̶I̶V̶E̶ SURVIVE TILL 25

According to the latest reading, from August, the share of American workers “thriving” — those who when given a scale of 1 to 10 rate their life at a 7 or higher and their future situation at 8 or above — dropped to the lowest point on record, at just 50%. As recently as 2021, 60% said the same.

Gallup employee wellbeing chart — Sherwood News

Other employee-wellness indicators that Gallup tracks, like the share of people who reported feeling stressed, worried, or sad for “a lot of the day” yesterday, also ticked up in August, though they are down from the rates seen during the pandemic.

Despite the current Life Evaluation Index reading showing that American employees are feeling more positive on average than workers around the world, just 34% of whom slipped into the “thriving” category in 2023, inflation and plenty of issues besides are clearly weighing heavy on the US populace.

David Crowther, Claire Yubin Oh

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eBay stock slumps on gloomy Q4 outlook despite solid Q3 earnings

Shares of eBay fell as much as 10.5% in premarket trading on Thursday morning after the company gave a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the important holiday shopping season.

The e-commerce giant reported solid numbers for the third quarter on Wednesday, with revenue up 9% as reported to $2.8 billion and gross merchandise volume rising 10% to $20.1 billion, topping the average analyst forecast of $19.4 billion, per Bloomberg.

However, concerns about the future somewhat overshadowed these results.

eBay outlined its profit outlook for the period ending in December to $1.31 to $1.36 a share, with revenue at $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion. According to Bloomberg-compiled data, this broadly matches Wall Street’s estimates for the top line, but misses on the bottom line, with analysts forecasting EPS to come in at $1.39 — suggesting the company expects some further margin pressure.

The company has been facing macroeconomic challenges since the US ended the de minimis tariff exemption in late August, with the online marketplace reliant on shipments. One small silver lining? CFO Peggy Alford highlighted a “less durable trend” on a post-earnings call: that as commodity prices for precious metals boomed, demand for bullion and collectible coins on eBay spiked.