The ADP Research Employee Motivation and Commitment Index, which tracks how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs, weakened in June.

The sentiment index lost a point for the second month, closing at 130. Despite the slight decline, sentiment has been holding relatively steady through the first half of 2026.

Sentiment lost ground in six of the 10 industries we track. Health care showed the biggest decline for the second month, dropping 10 points to 117, its lowest reading since March 2024. Professional services dropped 6 points to 128, and information shed 5 points to 129.

Retail and wholesale trade was a bright spot, rising 14 points to 135, its second month of improvement.

Among work types, the index was little changed. Sentiment rose 2 points to 128 for skilled task workers. Knowledge worker sentiment fell 2 points to 122, and repetitive task workers shed one point to 109.

Sentiment at large employers also showed weakness. The index for employers with 1,000 to 2,499 workers fell for the second month, shedding 4 points to 107, while the largest employers – those with more than 5,000 workers – slipped 3 points to 93.

“In 2024 and 2025, the June index jumped more than seven points,” said Dr. Mary Hayes, research director of People and Performance at ADP Research. “After two years of increase, workforce optimism looks to have peaked in the first half of 2026.”

About the EMC Index

The Employee Motivation and Commitment Index tracks how people think and feel about their jobs and employers. ADP Research uses a panel survey to gather a stratified, random panel sample of 2,500 U.S. workers each month. This month’s survey was fielded June 1 to 9, 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 July 21.