The fashion job market is in a state of flux — and for those fortunate enough to be employed at all in 2026, workplace culture and dynamics are rapidly changing. After years of layoffs, restructuring and shifting consumer habits alongside economic volatility and the rise of AI, workers across the industry are navigating an uncertain landscape.
It's against this backdrop that Fashionista surveyed more than 500 industry professionals across a range of fields, resulting in the 2026 Inside the Fashion Workplace Report.
Image: Fashionista
Beyond the current state of compensation, professional happiness and burnout rates in fashion jobs, the report also provides insights into the future of industry employment. For one, we learned that layoffs are becoming more common: 38%, or more than one-third, of survey takers said their company had layoffs in 2025 — a 6% increase from the year prior. Perhaps relatedly, a higher portion of respondents said they don't feel confident in their job security going into 2026. There was also a small uptick in respondents who said they were actively looking for a new job: 56%, vs. 50% last year.
Of course, these metrics vary by sector: On average, those in retail, corporate and wholesale roles reported higher confidence in job security than those in product development, media and styling. Far more designers (55%) witnessed layoffs than sales professionals (33%).
Image: Fashionista
These results reflect macro conditions seen across the job market, beyond just fashion. Entry-level jobsare declining and, resultantly, unemployment among young college graduates is rising. Meanwhile, AI will undoubtedly continue have an impact on the job landscape by both reducing the need for some roles and creating demand for others.
In its State of Fashion 2026 report, McKinsey found that by 2030, across industries, 700,000 net new jobs will be created in the U.S. and 2 million in Europe. It also found that up to 40% of workers in developed countries will need to "reskill" or change roles by 2030 due to technology. Diving into specific fields, the report estimates that around 22% of marketing tasks can be automated by then, and that demand will rise for "product flow engineers, integrative marketing strategists and consumer experience designers" as well as expertise in "data quality, system integration, digital twins and marketing automation."
Related: Which Fashion Jobs Pay the Most?
In the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics also provides up-to-date statistics and projections for employment growth across sectors and positions. Between 2024 and 2034, total employment across all industries is expected to grow 3%. But among fashion retail businesses, it's expected to decline 3%. Broken down further within this sector, it projects a 6% decline for PR specialists, a 10% decline for sales reps, a 2% decline for buyers and a 2% increase for retail salespeople. Those numbers are modest compared to employment in the apparel manufacturing industry, which overall is projected to decline a whopping 30% in the same period. Within that: -24% for fashion designers and -27% for patternmakers.
Much of this aligns with the results of our survey, where job security confidence was highest in retail and lowest in product development and production. For more, download the full report below.
Download Fashionista's Inside the Fashion Workplace Report
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