Press release

Labor Market 2024: More and more people want to change jobs

• 73 percent think about a new job at least once a month – compared to 64 percent in 2023
• Salary and vacation are the most important factors for job seekers
• More than a quarter complain about slow or no responses during the application process

DUESSELDORF, July 15, 2024 — High workloads, low salaries and a better offer from another company: More and more people are wanting to change jobs. These are the findings from the latest study by the digital recruiting platform The Stepstone Group, which surveyed 3,700 respondents. The study examined how often people find themselves considering a new role: Almost three-quarters think about a new challenge monthly - compared to 64 percent last year and 53 percent in 2021. The reasons: a desire for a higher salary (35 percent), dissatisfaction with the job (34 percent), too much stress (33 percent), or a more attractive offer from another employer (26 percent). "Job changes are becoming a normal part of working life for more and more people," says Dr. Tobias Zimmermann, labor market expert at The Stepstone Group. "The reason is clear: worker scarcity has firmly arrived in our job market. The employee market has reached a new dimension."

Job seekers want faster processes and higher salaries

On average, it takes people 15 weeks from searching for a new job to signing a contract. However, many feel this is simply far too long: more than a quarter of job seekers complain about overly lengthy hiring processes or a lack of emplolyer feedback. "In these times, companies simply cannot afford to keep candidates waiting unnecessarily. It is highly advisable to automate as many processes as possible, for example, using artificial intelligence," says Zimmermann. "This way, recruiters can hand off time-consuming tasks to AI and focus on determining how well a candidate fits into the company."

Salary, vacation, and security are the most important criteria

When choosing the right employer, vacation days (70 percent), salary (66 percent), and job security (63 percent) are the most important factors for job seekers - followed by meaningful work (58 percent) and interesting job content (55 percent). "We are in times of multiple crises and coming out of a phase of inflation. It makes sense that workers are less willing to compromise on salary and financial security. Employers who cannot offer higher salary ranges for economic reasons are even more challenged to clearly communicate the meaningfulness of their work. "For example, almost 30 percent of job seekers, according to the study, would make salary concessions if their employer primarily focused on sustainability."

About the survey

The "Hiring Trends Index" study series is a quarterly survey published by The Stepstone Group. In the period from June 6 to 18, 2024, 3,700 German employees and 500 recruiters were surveyed online. Among other things, the willingness of employees to look for a new job, which factors are decisive and how they perceive the application process were examined.  Employees had already been surveyed on these aspects in 2023 and 2021, allowing trends to be identified and interpreted. The results are representative of the German working population by age, gender and education.

About The Stepstone Group
The Stepstone Group is a leading global digital recruitment platform that connects companies with the right talent and helps people find the right job. AI-driven job marketplaces and programmatic-powered marketing solutions connect more than 130 million job applications with around 140,000 employers every year. In 2023, The Stepstone Group generated revenue of around €1 billion. The Stepstone Group operates in more than 30 countries - including Stepstone in Germany, Appcast in the USA and Totaljobs in the UK. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and employs around 4,000 people worldwide. For more information: www.thestepstonegroup.com/en/

Contact

The Stepstone Group Media Relations

press@stepstone.com