Three quarters of Britons want to change jobs due to cost of living crisis

Survey finds pay is the main driver behind job searches

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Three in four workers are considering finding a new job due to the cost of living crisis, a survey has revealed.

The data, from jobs site CV-Library, indicated that pay is the main reason people are looking to change jobs.

The survey also asked more than 4,000 professional workers what their thoughts were on flexible or remote working and found that only one in seven said either of these factors would be the most important for them when looking for a new role.

Data from the almost 250,000 jobs posted to the site also confirmed that salaries are not keeping in line with the rising cost of inflation.

Analysis of the jobs posted found that wages on offer were lower than a year ago in retail, sales, social care and pharmaceutical.

Lee Biggins, chief executive of CV-Library said: “Whilst these statistics are high, it feels sadly inevitable that UK professionals are feeling forced into action given the huge demands on household budgets.

“The pandemic pushed the desire for flexible and remote working to the fore but, whilst it is still important, we’re seeing this take a back seat as the need for more money takes precedence.

“With unfilled vacancies still at record levels, the UK job market would be much healthier with a greater number of available candidates, but businesses will need to balance their own increased costs with the salary needs and expectations of job seekers.”

The survey comes after findings earlier this year showed that Britons are quitting their jobs at the highest rate in over a decade.

Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, said at the time that data showed “historically elevated levels of workers leaving the labour market entirely”.

Dubbed “The Great Resignation”, separate data from Microsoft found that, of the 30,000 workers it surveyed worldwide, 41 per cent are considering quitting their jobs or changing professions.

The movement has even translated over to social media, with the hashtag #quitmyjob amassing 239m views on TikTok.

Redundancies in the UK are currently at their lowest levels since the mid-1990s, while the number of open vacancies are at the highest on record.

The new figures come as the UK plunges further into the cost of living crisis. As of 1 April, prices of everyday items have risen, including energy bills which are expected to rise by 54 per cent for households this year.