According to a new report from the Conference Board, almost half (41%) of US workers believe the nation is already in a recession, with 36% stating that their company has already begun to confine hiring to crucial roles, and 13% stating layoffs have already been carried out.

In addition, 22% of the respondents said that their company has frozen hiring, while 19% said their company implemented a major restructuring. When asked about impact of the anticipated recession on their compensations, 14% said their company cut bonuses and 4% said their company implemented furloughs with benefits. Despite this sentiment, close to half (44%) of workers said they are secure in their job and over a third (36%) said they are very secure.

According to different demographics, white respondents (41%) were more likely to say the country was already in a recession compared to 27% of Black respondents and 35% of Hispanic/Latino respondents. In addition, almost half (46%) of men polled said that the US was already in a recession compared to just 35% of women. “Amid historically low unemployment in the US, this recession will be significantly different from prior downturns,” said Rebecca Ray, executive VP of human capital at The Conference Board.

“Businesses should be mindful of the lessons learned from the Covid recession, when those that furloughed or laid off workers saw just how hard it can be to get that talent back.” With this in mind, organisations should try to explore options outside redundancies, lay-offs and furloughs as they attempt to negotiate the increasing likelihood of a recession in the near future.