Employee sentiment weakened in October
October 21, 2025
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2 min
The Employee Motivation and Commitment Index fell for the second straight month, shedding two points to 146.
Manufacturing sentiment fell for the third straight month, dropping 14 points to 201, its lowest level since January. Manufacturing sentiment, however, continues to outperform that of other sectors.
Educational services continued to lose ground from its record high in July, shedding eight points to 129. Retail and wholesale trade dropped for the first time since May, falling seven points to 150.
Only three sectors saw improvement in October. Information had the largest gain, adding 10 points to 149. Finance and insurance, which has been rising steadily since March, climbed seven points to 123, a new record high. Professional, scientific, and technical services, edged up two points to143.
Sentiment among knowledge workers remained steady at 136, maintaining a record high set in September. Skilled task worker sentiment fell for the second month, dropping three points to 133.
Repetitive task worker sentiment, which consistently lags that of knowledge and skilled task workers, has been weakening since it reached a record high in July. In September, it shed six points to 114, its lowest level since April.
“Worker sentiment has been mostly unaffected by this year’s hiring slowdown, but this resilience might be starting to fray,” said Dr. Mary Hayes, director of People and Performance at ADP Research. “We’ll be watching to see whether sentiment continues to weaken.”
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 October 1 through 8, 2025.
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 November 18. For EMC Index historical data, visit the ADP Research Data Lab.
