Bankrate Survey Finds 55% of Americans in the Workforce Will Search for New Job in Coming Year

Bankrate, an online financial publisher, recently released the results of a survey commissioned by YouGov, a market research/data analytics firm, looking at the career plans of 2,452 adults. One key finding is that over half (55 percent) of those polled said they will search for a new job in the coming year. The survey was conducted in late July. ¹

When asked how likely they were to search for a new job in the next twelve months, 35 percent said, "very likely," and 20 percent said, "somewhat likely." On the other side of the equation, 20 percent said, "not too likely" and 26 percent said, "not at all likely."

Nearly twice as many of both Generation Z (ages 18 - 24) and millennial (ages 25 - 40) workers said they planned to look for a new job than baby boomers (77 percent, 63 percent, and 33 percent, respectively). Forty-five percent of Gen X respondents also said they’ll look for a new job.

Image via Bankrate.com

The survey found that 72 percent of respondents earning under $30,000 a year intend to look for a new job, while the same goes for 44 percent of those making $80,000 or more a year.

The poll also touched on race, finding that 67 percent of black and Hispanic people intend to look for a new job, compared to 47 percent of white people.

"That comes at a time when the number of Americans voluntarily quitting their jobs is near an all-time high for a third straight month, suggesting Americans are feeling more confidence in their career prospects following the worst unemployment crisis in a lifetime," the report says. "All of that points to continued challenges for employers in the months ahead, as they attempt to not only lure workers back to a job but also retain them."

People are also seeking specific characteristics in their jobs, with flexibility being the top concern. When asked which features are most important to them in the wake of the pandemic, 56 percent of respondents said flexibility, beating out even higher pay, which was cited by 53 percent. Forty-seven percent cited job security, while 35 percent want more time off. Twenty-four percent said better work culture, and another 13 percent said none of these characteristics were important, which is an interesting statistic on its own.

Image via Bankrate.com

A significant part of flexibility expectations is the ability to work remotely, at least some of the time, the survey would seem to indicate. Nineteen percent said they expect to be able to work remotely on a full-time basis, although 24 percent don’t expect to be able to at all. Another 22 percent said they do not even have the capability to do so.

Image via Bankrate.com

It would seem that most Americans who have the ability to do their job from home expect to be able to do so at least part of the time. Sixty percent of those say they’d expect to work remotely or from home at least one day a week.

The pandemic has no doubt played a major role in the shifting attitudes of workers, and employers who are having trouble filling positions or retaining workers should pay attention to the trends and aim for flexibility if work won’t suffer as a result.