American workers had a rough 2025. Will 2026 be any different?

It’s been a rough year for American workers. Unfortunately, 2026 isn’t looking all that much better.

The year began with tariffs—just as inflation was finally starting to cool—followed by AI anxiety and headline-grabbing layoffs, before ending with America’s longest ever government shutdown.

Surveys suggest many American workers didn’t get a raise in 2025, and most are unsatisfied with their current compensation. They feel, however, as though they can’t leave their jobs or...