Research Study Suggests that Nearly Two Thirds of U.S. Workers Would Leave Their Current Job

With the U.S. near full employment, employers are finding that they need to work hard not just to pursue new hires, but also to retain their current staff. In a recent article published by Industry Week, the findings of a newly-released survey conducted by the ADP Research Institute are discussed. The survey, taken in September of 2016, looked at 2,156 employees and 800 mid-sized businesses with 50 to 999 workers. Results included the following:

• 63% of employees at mid-sized companies are open to leaving for another job
• 46% of employees would consider a job change, even at their current salary or lower
• 17% of workers are actively engaged in a job search
• 27% of workers said that they had changed jobs in the past year
• Employers are generally overestimating the number of active job searchers in their ranks, but underestimated the number of passive searchers

Though wages are an important factor, benefits such as a better work-life balance and access to advancement opportunities could contribute to the incentives of workers to move to a new job. And while current pay growth levels are modest—hourly earnings adjusted for inflation rose just 0.4% in the 12 months through April—the author suggests that American workers could potentially expect higher growth in this area.

To read that article in full, see Industry Week.