The ADP Research Employee Motivation and Commitment Index, which tracks how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs, improved for the first time in five months, gaining one point to close at 127 in September.

Industry

Sentiment trends diverged across industries, with 10 of the 19 we measure losing ground.

Real estate posted the biggest decrease, shedding 25 points to 84. While sentiment among workers in this industry typically is volatile, it’s now at its weakest point since June 2023.

“Employee sentiment improved for the first time in five months, but it remains to be seen if this is the start of a trend,” said Dr. Mary Hayes, research director of People and Performance at ADP Research. “For real estate in particular, professionals probably are feeling the long-running strain of constrained inventory and high interest rates.”

Sentiment in accommodation and food services has been weakening since June and is now at a record low of 76 in a data series going back to August 2024. The industry’s last low was in December 2024, when sentiment fell to 82.

Mining, at 90, also hit a series low. Educational services fell to 102, its weakest reading since March 2024.

Health care had the biggest increase of any industry, climbing 12 points to 131. Utilities, which has been on the upswing since March, gained 10 points to close at 79.

Worker type

Sentiment among repetitive task workers rose six points to 113, its best reading since December 2025. Knowledge workers added a point to close at 118, and sentiment among skilled task workers was unchanged at 125.

Employer size

Sentiment rose or remained steady in five of our seven employer size categories.

Employers with 51 to 149 workers jumped 10 points to 119, the group’s best reading since December.

Sentiment at organizations with 500 to 999 employees fell seven points to 102, its worst reading since May 2025. At employers with 150 to 499 workers, sentiment was unchanged at 107, holding at its lowest level since May 2024.

Note: This month’s survey was fielded September 3 to 8, 2026. ADP Research publishes the EMC Index on the third Tuesday of every month. The next release will be October 20.