Almost one in five UK workers say they are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months as they seek better pay and job satisfaction, a survey suggests.

Accounting giant PwC said workers were starting to “assert their power” at a time when many bosses are struggling to recruit.

It found younger and highly skilled workers were most likely to be unhappy in their jobs or seeking a raise.

Some 60% also said they would prefer to work fully or mostly from home.

Many workers changed jobs or left the workforce during the pandemic in what economists dubbed the “Great Resignation”, and PwC said the trend showed no sign of slowing.

Between January and March there were more job vacancies than unemployed people in the UK for the first time since records began, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The number moving from job-to-job also hit a record high “driven by resignations rather than dismissals”, while regular wages (excluding bonuses) rose by 4.2%, though not as fast as the cost of living.

In March PwC surveyed more than 2,000 UK workers from a range of industries and found that:

• 18% said they were “very or extremely likely” to switch to a new employer within the next 12 months
• some 32% also said they were moderately or slightly likely to switch and 16% were planning to leave the workforce temporarily or permanently
• an increase in pay was the main motivator for changing jobs (72%), followed by wanting a more fulfilling job (68%) and to “truly be themselves at work” (63%)

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