Nearly 30 per cent of Indian workers believe their jobs are secure, placing India third globally and first across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, according to a report released on Tuesday, 23 June by ADP Research. The findings highlight a significant confidence gap between India and the broader APAC average, even as concerns about long-term job relevance grow amid rapid technological change.

India Leads APAC, But the Gap Is Telling

Across the APAC region, only 18 per cent of workers felt their jobs were safe — well below India's 30 per cent. Globally, just 22 per cent of workers strongly agreed their jobs are secure from elimination. Notably, no country surveyed reported a majority of workers confident about long-term job safety, underscoring a widespread sense of vulnerability in the global workforce.

The report draws a sharp contrast between India's relative optimism and the region's broader unease — a gap that analysts say reflects India's expanding services sector and relatively younger workforce demographic.

Why Job Security Confidence Matters

The ADP Research report found that workers who feel secure in their roles are twice as likely to have no intention of leaving their employer, six times more likely to be fully engaged at work, and 3.3 times more likely to report high productivity. These multipliers make job security sentiment a critical lever for organisational performance — not just an employee welfare metric.

This comes amid a broader global debate on workforce resilience, as automation and artificial intelligence reshape job roles across industries. The data suggests that perceived job safety directly correlates with the kind of discretionary effort that drives business outcomes.

Knowledge Workers vs. Frontline Workers: A Sharp Divide

Within India, job security confidence varies sharply by work type. Knowledge workers reported the highest confidence at 37 per cent, roughly twice the rate of skilled task workers at 18 per cent and repetitive task workers at 17 per cent. The divergence points to a growing two-tier workforce dynamic, where white-collar professionals feel insulated while blue-collar and task-based workers remain significantly more anxious about their futures.

At the sectoral level across APAC, workers in finance and insurance reported the highest job security confidence, while those in accommodation and food services reported the lowest — a pattern consistent with global trends around automation exposure.

What Industry Leaders Are Saying

Rahul Goyal, Managing Director of ADP India and Southeast Asia, said employees today are not merely focused on job continuity. 'In today's environment, employees are not just focused on job continuity; they are increasingly concerned about job relevance. As technology reshapes the nature of work, many are questioning whether their current roles will remain viable in the future,' he said.

Goyal added: 'Employees must prioritise continuous upskilling to stay competitive, while employers need to be far more transparent about how roles are evolving.' He stressed that clear communication, combined with sustained investment in skills development, will be critical to strengthening employability, driving productivity, and building long-term workforce resilience.

What This Means Going Forward

While India's relative standing is encouraging, the data reveals that even the country's most confident workers represent less than a third of the workforce — leaving the majority uncertain about long-term stability. As AI and automation accelerate, the pressure on employers to communicate role evolution clearly and invest in reskilling is set to intensify. How Indian companies respond to that challenge will likely determine whether the country's job security lead holds in future surveys.