Two of Three Job Metrics Are Improving

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• Currently, 25% say that businesses are laying off in their area, down 5 points from December of 2025.
  • Conversely, a narrow plurality (29%) says businesses in their area are hiring.
  • That number has been unchanged since September of 2025.
• In a similar vein, 44% of voters now say it is a good time to look for a job, up 4 points from December.
  • Additionally, the number of voters saying it is a bad time to look for a job (42%) is down 5 points.
• Still, 61% of voters say it is at least Somewhat Difficult to find a new job if a person has been laid off. Just 28% say it is not difficult.
  • Those numbers include 19% who say it is a Very Difficult time to find job, and just 9% who say it is Not At All Difficult.
  • These numbers have changed little since March 2025.
  • In September of 2024, just 45% of voters said it was a difficult time to find a job, and another 45% disagreed.
• On all of these questions, Republicans, as the party in power, are significantly more optimistic than Democrats.
  • In our 4-Way Choice question, voters who prefer Trump-like policies are the most optimistic, while Traditional Republicans are more muted in their response.
• See Scott discuss the Economy and jobs numbers here in his Morning Briefing.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, February 17-18 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.