Employee sentiment weakens for seventh month

The ADP Research Employee Motivation and Commitment Index, which tracks how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs, fell 2 points to 129, continuing a steep and unprecedented seven-month run of month-over-month weakening.

The index is now 20 points below its record high set in August and at its lowest point since April 2025. Sentiment weakened in five of the 10 sectors we track and across all three worker types.

Manufacturing, construction, and retail and wholesale trade tumbled to multi-month lows, erasing gains that had propelled sentiment in those sectors to record highs in late 2025.

Manufacturing had the biggest decline, dropping 12 points to 180. The sector is now 50 points below its record high set in July.

Retail and wholesale trade continued to slide for the sixth month, shedding 6 points to 121, its weakest reading since December 2024. Construction slipped for the fourth month, falling 4 points to 97, its lowest point since January 2025.

Sentiment improved in several sectors. Professional, scientific, and technical services had the strongest performance, rising 9 points to 137. In the volatile real estate sector, sentiment climbed for the third month, gaining 8 points to 123.

Among repetitive task workers, sentiment fell 3 points to 97, the lowest reading since January 2025. Skilled task worker sentiment dropped 2 points to 129, and knowledge worker sentiment declined for the fifth month, shedding 1 point to 122.

Sentiment remained flat or dropped in all but one of the seven employer size categories we track. At the largest employers, those with 5,000 or more workers, the index was at its lowest level since March 2024.

“We’ve never seen such a sustained weakening of worker sentiment,” said Dr. Mary Hayes, director of People and Performance at ADP Research. “Any improvements in employee motivation and commitment made in 2025 have been all but erased.”

About the EMC Index

The Employee Motivation and Commitment Index tracks how people think and feel about their jobs and employers. ADP Research collects data each month using a panel survey to gather a stratified, random panel sample of 2,500 U.S. workers. This month’s survey was fielded March 2 to 10, 2026.

We identify respondents by work type based on their choice of three options:

• I have a level of freedom to use my expertise to create something new. (Our definition of knowledge worker.)
• I use a level of expertise to solve similar problems each day. (Our definition of skilled task worker.)
• I do similar repetitive tasks each day. (Our definition of repetitive task worker.)

By providing a real-time measure of the state of worker allegiance, the index can tell us whether people are flourishing in their jobs or detaching. ADP Research publishes the EMC Index on the third Tuesday of every month. The next release will be April 21.