New Survey from Expert Platform JustAnswer Reveals 45% of the US Workforce Are Worried About Getting Laid Off, and 21% of Americans Have Been Laid Off Without Any Severance Pay

By PR Newswire On May 2, 2023

With widespread layoffs being announced daily in 2023, JustAnswer has seen a record number of questions this year for its employment law experts. In fact, questions around severance pay, wrongful termination and unemployment benefits have risen 31% YOY to date. For severance pay specifically, questions have spiked by 139%.

In order to get a handle on current consumer sentiment about the job market, layoffs and workplace situations that are prompting people to seek expert legal help, JustAnswer recently commissioned a *survey by YouGov of 1,202 U.S. adults on these topics. Here are some of the key findings:

45% of employed Americans are concerned about losing their current job – and the number climbs to 64% when looking at GenZ employees (26 and under) specifically. In comparison, 47% of Millennials and 46% of GenXers are worried about future layoffs.
21% of Americans have ever been laid off from a job without receiving any kind of severance pay or package. However, of the people who did receive a severance package from their most recent layoff, less than half (42%) actually negotiated that package.
More than a third of Americans who have ever been employed said they have experienced (19%) or witnessed (21%) something at work that they believe warranted legal action against an employer. However, 56% of those respondents – more than half – never took any legal action about what they experienced or witnessed.
Gen Z & Millennials were much more likely than older respondents to have sought legal recourse after experiencing or witnessing something they believe to warrant legal action at work
- 63% of Gen Zers and 50% of Millennials who have ever experienced or witnessed something took legal action in at least one instance, compared to only 15% of Seniors+Boomers (59+) and only 34% of Gen Xers.
- More men than women have taken legal action after witnessing or experiencing something troubling at work – 46% vs. 30%
Nearly a quarter of Americans (22%) admitted they have at least once signed a contract from an employer (e.g., nondisclosure agreement, non-compete agreement, etc.) – without reading it carefully.

Expert Help from Employment Experts Now Available in Special JustAnswer Guide

As a way to meet surging demand from the current turbulent job market, JustAnswer has launched a new hub for articles offering expert help in navigating employment dilemmas and legal issues related to job loss. The new “Unemployment Unwrapped” guide at

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