How We Measure Job Quality
Traditional measures of job quality focus on wages and other forms of compensation, but these indicators are insufficient. Workers also value job security, manageable schedules, a safe working environment, healthy relationships with supervisors and colleagues, opportunities for growth and skills development, and a voice on workplace issues.
The American Job Quality Study is unique in that it captures a rich set of job quality measures and follows a large study population (over 18,000 workers) over time. The AJQS first surveyed workers in 2025, and re-surveyed those workers, along with new study participants, in 2026. A third survey wave is planned for 2027.
The AJQS measures five dimensions of job quality:
- Compensation and Job Security: Pay and benefits that meet basic needs, as well as stable employment.
- Work Structure and Autonomy: A predictable, stable work schedule and a sense of control over how work gets done.
- Work Environment: An environment where workers are physically safe, respected, and free from discrimination or harassment.
- Worker Agency and Voice: The ability to influence working conditions and shape decisions that affect the job.
- Growth and Development: A clear path to build skills, gain experience, and advance in a career.
AJQS Research Team
Susan N. Houseman
Katharine G. Abraham
Erica L. Groshen
Alexander Hertel-Fernandez
Erin L. Kelly
Thomas A. Kochan
Susan J. Lambert
Beth C. Truesdale
Development of the AJQS
How strong is America’s labor market? Answers often focus on the number of jobs but don’t account for the quality of those jobs. Rates of unemployment or job growth are important, but they don’t tell us how good the jobs are. And information about job quality in surveys is often limited to pay and benefits, but a high-quality job involves much more than good compensation.
The American Job Quality Study was created to address these gaps.
The AJQS grew out of the Job Quality Measurement Initiative, a project that brought together more than 70 experts from academia, business, and think tanks to craft recommendations for how to better measure job quality. Concluded in 2023, the initiative was funded by a consortium of foundations coordinated by the Families & Workers Fund in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Working with Jobs for the Future, the Families & Workers Fund, and Gallup, an interdisciplinary research team of experts on job quality led the design of the AJQS survey questionnaire. Gallup administers the survey.
The first wave of the survey was fielded in early 2025 and had more than 18,000 respondents. A second wave was fielded in 2026 and a third is planned for 2027. The AJQS is a panel survey: respondents are re-surveyed each year, providing a view of how their job quality may change over time.
The AJQS also allows us to see how different dimensions of job quality go together—compensating for or compounding each other—and how the quality of jobs shapes the quality of life.
Contact Us
To speak with one of our experts, email ajqs@upjohn.org.