Youth poll: Thumbs down on everything

More than a quarter of younger Americans (27%) believe they or someone they know has lost a job because their employer replaced them with AI, according to a new Axios-Generation Lab poll of 18- to 34-year-olds.

Why it matters: Research suggests the actual share of job losses from AI is smaller. But the survey reflects the suspicion, mistrust and fatalism in how Gen Zers and young Millennials see the technology — sentiments driving their views on politics, the economy and social interactions.

• Asked which political party they trust more to bring down the cost of living, respondents' top choice was neither (36%) — over Democrats (26%) and Republicans (22%).

What they're saying: "They're kind of thumbs-down on everything — how the president's doing, how the economy's doing, both political parties," said Generation Lab CEO Cyrus Beschloss. "AI is a pretty big disruptor; it's easy to point to one faceless thing as the cause."

• Despite fears of AI stealing jobs, 71% said they're as comfortable or more comfortable with it than they were a year ago; 61% said they'd used ChatGPT in the past month, while 48% reported using Gemini and 20% Claude.

What we're watching: 96% are concerned about the cost of rent, groceries, gas or utilities, including 40% who are "extremely" concerned.

• 48% rate the national economy as "poor."
• 35% said if they were looking for a job today it would be "very difficult." Another 43% said it would be "somewhat difficult."
• More than half say home ownership is a top goal. But only about half think they'll own a home in the next decade, and 28% say it's very unlikely.

By the numbers: 66% disapprove of President Trump's handling of his job, 54% strongly.

• 64% disapprove of Trump's handling of the war with Iran, 50% strongly. Two-thirds believe the war has left the U.S. worse off than before.

Looking ahead to 2028 presidential election, name recognition appears to be a significant factor.

• Among Democratic respondents, former Vice President Kamala Harris led a field of prospective presidential candidates (28.7%), followed by former First Lady Michelle Obama (14.9%) and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (11.7%).
• Independents favored Michelle Obama (11.4%), AOC (9.2%) and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (7.4%).
• Among Republican respondents, Vice President JD Vance was the clear leader (31.5%), followed by the president's son Donald Trump Jr. (10.7%) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (9.7%).

Zoom in: Last November, an Axios-Generation Lab poll found that 67% of two- and four-year college students had a positive or neutral association with the word "socialism" compared with just 40% with a positive or neutral view of "capitalism." We wrote then that this reflected college students' left lean as well as economic conditions.

• But this latest poll captures the broader sentiments of Americans under 35, including some long done with college and others with only high school degrees or no diploma — and the results weren't that different.
• 68% of respondents say they view socialism positively or neutrally, while 47% have positive or neutral views of capitalism. Negative views of capitalism outweigh negative views of socialism by more than 2 to 1.

"I don't think it's young people sitting around thinking about what economic models are most beneficial to society at large, or reading Plato's Republic and pondering economic theory," Beschloss said.

• "They may be thinking it's a radical way to shake things up, shake up the status quo — a way to give things to the working class, an anti-establishment thing, more than the clear workings of socialism."

Methodology: This poll was conducted July 29-Aug. 4, 2026, from a representative sample of 1,075 adults ages 18-34, including 244 with high school degrees or less, 457 with some college or an associate's degree and 374 with bachelor's degrees or higher.

• 37% of respondents identified as Democrats, 26% as Republicans and 29% as independents.
• The overall margin of error is +/- 3.01 percentage points.