In today’s job market, it’s more ‘show me a desk’ than ‘show me the money’

When it comes to their careers, many people are searching for the promise of some stability.

Finding a well-paid job is important, but so is a sense of job security at an uncertain time for the economy, according to labor-market experts and a growing number of surveys.

The job market continues to trudge along with little hiring and little firing. But workers are worried about “FOBO” — the fear of becoming obsolete if artificial intelligence takes over their work. Layoffs can be difficult to anticipate, with pink slips now popping up in a 6 a.m. email. And it’s taking many people a long time — almost three months — to find a new job after they lose one.

These days, you might say it’s “show me a desk” instead of “show me the money.”

Sierra Rodriguez is a 23-year-old political-campaign organizer in Colorado. She acknowledges that her profession is not stable: Jobs come and go with campaign cycles. After successful races, there’s fierce competition for staff positions. Pivoting to nonprofit work isn’t a sure thing, because there’s now less funding for many organizations.

When the campaign she’s currently working on ends, she said she plans to assess her job prospects and think hard about her next move. Tougher economic conditions have sharpened her worries about paying her bills when the campaign cycle is done.

“As counterintuitive as it may seem, yes, I definitely do value job security,” she told MarketWatch. “How quickly am I going to have to switch out of a career path I definitely love to do something more stable?”

Many people are paying closer attention to job security, polling indicates. Two-thirds of new college graduates say they would take a job with lower pay in order to gain more long-term job security, according to a survey from job-search platform Monster released late last month. Job security is also now a bigger priority than career advancement when evaluating a job offer, although salary remains the top factor, the survey found.

Meanwhile, only 2 in 10 workers feel confident their job is safe from elimination, according to ADP research released late last month. As AI becomes integrated into offices and factories, lower-rung workers and those whose jobs involve repetitive tasks feel especially at risk, the payroll giant’s polling showed.

There’s a disconnect between low unemployment rates and worker sentiment, said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. But geopolitical conflicts, high costs and the rise of AI have worn on workers, she said. “Workers are feeling that, and even though the numbers are saying this is a pretty solid job market, there’s still a lot of insecurity,” Richardson told MarketWatch.

Friday’s jobs report highlights the disconnect.

It showed that the economy added 178,000 new jobs in March, which was well above forecasts — even as fighting in Iran raised energy prices and increased economic uncertainty. Yet the report also gave a strong hint about why people are searching for stability: The job hunt today can be grueling.

The March numbers show it’s taking almost three months for many people to find work — that’s been the median length since late 2025 — while a quarter of unemployed job hunters have been looking for at least half a year.

“If a layoff does occur, many workers have found themselves searching for months on end,” said Sneha Puri, an economist at Indeed. “This has created an environment where even workers with high levels of job security by traditional standards are starting to feel anxious about the possibility of job loss.”

Finding a stable job and hugging it tight makes sense. More people say they plan to stay at their jobs for a longer period of time, according to a ZipRecruiter survey of new hires in January.

Fewer people, meanwhile, said they negotiated the terms of their offer. It could be that they didn’t want haggling over salary to tank their chances for a new job, researchers said. “Job stability has become the defining feature of today’s workforce,” they wrote.

So where are the stable jobs? “Healthcare, construction, skilled trades. Those are the jobs that are most in demand in the economy right now,” Richardson said.

The healthcare sector added 76,000 jobs in March. But there’s a catch.

Many jobs in the sector now are for positions such as home health aides, Richardson noted. “They may be safe, but that doesn’t mean they pay well,” she said.

Other healthcare jobs, such as physical therapists and nurse practitioners, can pay more, said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Hospitals, healthcare products, health insurance and pharmaceuticals are “all areas expected to grow because more and more people need healthcare as our country ages,” he said.

Jobs in skilled trades — such as plumbers, electricians and HVAC technicians — also seem poised for security, Richardson said. Again, demographics are a clue — this time within the professions, as there aren’t enough younger workers in the field to take the place of older ones as they retire. Meanwhile, construction remains in demand, and pay bumps for job changers in the construction industry have been “in double digits for several years,” Richardson said.

Challenger agreed: “Being able to do something in the physical world has real protections,” he said.

People searching for stable jobs can think about the big picture — but also about the details of the job postings they’re looking at.

“Larger companies tend to be more stable over time,” though there can be trade-offs, Challenger said. Fully remote work may also sound appealing, but there’s “still less stability” compared with jobs where workers can build face-to-face relationships with their bosses.

“If we do see a downturn in the economy, it would not be surprising to see remote workers be let go first,” he said.

The hunt for job security continues in the interview process, said Vicki Salemi, a career advice expert at Monster.

Job candidates should research employers and industries and come to an interview with questions to ask, she said. Those include questions about the direction of the business, rollover, retention and expansion plans.

Job seekers, especially younger ones, shouldn’t be shy about asking questions, Salemi said. “It shows them, first and foremost, that you are interested and you are prepared.” And if interviewers bristle at questions or dodge them, that could be a red flag.

Vaguely written job postings could be another red flag, she said, because nebulous-sounding jobs can be easy to shift around or downsize.

The Monster survey showed recent grads are prizing job security over career growth. “I think they are playing the long game,” Salemi said, “and I think that’s the really savvy move.”