More and more workers are looking for new jobs as dissatisfaction with pay increases

A new survey shows that the number of job seekers is growing.

A report released this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that the share of people looking for new employment in July hit its highest level in more than a decade. Overall, 28 percent of respondents said they were looking for a job, while 88 percent of those who had a job four months ago, when the last survey was conducted, said they still had the same job, a record low.

The survey results come at a time when investors are nervous about jobs data after an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate in July rattled financial markets earlier this month. Federal Reserve officials have said they will now monitor labor market trends more closely now that inflation is back on track, which could prompt a rate cut at the September meeting of the central bank's monetary policy committee.

Women change jobs more often

The New York Fed's July labor market survey showed that the share of workers saying they were moving to a new job was also at its highest level in the survey's ten-year history.

One reason for the higher rate of job changes may be that workers were increasingly dissatisfied with their pay, benefits and career prospects. Women were more likely to be dissatisfied with their pay and to move to new jobs more often.

Workers also lowered their wage expectations, although these are still above pre-pandemic levels. The minimum salary they would accept was above the July 2023 level but below the March 2024 peak.