Employee sentiment fell in December

The Employee Motivation and Commitment Index fell for the fourth straight month, dropping 3 points to 142, its lowest measure since June. Worker sentiment weakened in 7 of the 10 sectors we track.

The volatile real estate sector posted the largest decline for the second month, shedding 21 points to 103, its lowest level since July.

Professional, scientific, and technical services fell eight points to 126, continuing a downward trend that began after the sector hit a record high in June and July. Retail/wholesale trade slipped for the third month in a row, dropping 6 points to 142.

Manufacturing, educational services, and health care and social assistance were the only sectors that showed improvement. Manufacturing had the largest increase, rising 13 points to 216. Educational services gained 7 points and health care rose 3 points.

Sentiment diverged by work type, too. Among knowledge workers, it declined for the second month, shedding 3 points to 132.

In contrast, skilled task worker sentiment gained 1 point to 137, just shy of a record high set in August. Repetitive task worker sentiment also improved, rising 2 points to 116. Sentiment for this group is up 21 points since January, the largest increase this year across the three worker types we measure.

“The EMC Index tracks how employees feel about their work, which can range from a chore to a sense of fulfillment,” said Dr. Mary Hayes, director of People and Performance at ADP Research. “The proportion of highly motivated and committed workers has slipped since its August high. Over the back half of the year work has become more of a chore for many workers.”

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 December 1 through 8, 2025.

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 January 20. For EMC Index historical data, visit the ADP Research Data Lab.