Employee engagement in the US fell to its lowest level since 2011 in the third quarter, according to CNBC, which reports on new Gallup polling. Gallup has published the results on its own site.

Only 29 percent of US workers were engaged in their jobs, down two points from the prior quarter, Gallup found. Engagement measures how focused, motivated and eager workers feel about their work. Gallup says 18 percent were actively disengaged, up from 17 percent.

Each point equals about 1.6 million workers, CNBC reports. That means about 3.2 million fewer engaged workers in one quarter. Gallup says engagement is down about 11 million workers since 2020.

The drop was sharpest among remote and hybrid workers, especially at companies that have adopted AI, CNBC reports. Gallup says engagement fell five points for fully remote workers and two points for hybrid workers. It fell about one point for on-site workers.

Workers also felt less clear about their jobs. Gallup reports 46 percent strongly agreed they knew what was expected of them, down from 49 percent. Just 37 percent said someone at work cares about them, down from 40 percent.

"The Q3 findings add to concerns about how well organizations communicate expectations," wrote Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace research, CNBC reports.

Gallup has tracked engagement since 2000, when 26 percent were engaged. It peaked at 36 percent in 2020. Gallup polled 21,648 adults from August 5 to 19, CNBC reports.

What we know: Gallup found 29 percent of US workers were engaged, the lowest since 2011.
What we don't: Only CNBC has reported this so far. NewsHabit hasn't seen independent confirmation.