With the midterms approaching, Republicans are seeking any good economic news to boost confidence that the Iran war has trampled. Affordability has continued to be an issue, and the president's ratings on inflation and the economy have suffered. In fact, voters now trust Democrats more on the those issues than Republicans.

The pessimism carries over to the current job market.

Are Businesses Hiring?

Currently, 26% of voters say businesses in their area are hiring, while 29% say they are laying workers off. In 2024, approaching the end of Biden's time in office, ratings were nearly identical: 27% said businesses were hiring, and 30% said they were laying off.

Additionally, just 41% of voters say it is now a good time to look for a job. That is down 8 points from a year ago and a massive 24 points from September of 2024. Forty-four percent (44%) of voters say it is a bad time to look for a job, up 6 points from a year ago and 21 points from September of 2024.

Two thirds (65%) of voters say it is at least somewhat difficult for someone who is laid off to find a good job, while 26% disagree. Those numbers are largely unchanged since March of 2025. Again, in September of 2024, those numbers were much more positive: 45% of voters said it was at least somewhat difficult to find a good job, and 45% disagreed.

Voter Economic Optimism Increased Under Trump - At First

Still, despite the drastic splits, voters overwhelmingly believed their personal finances were in bad shape under Biden. Optimism began to improve immediately upon Trump's election, even hitting significant high-water marks. But from there, optimism continued to tread water before taking a nosedive with the beginning of the Iran War.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, August 3-4, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.