Half (50 per cent) of Canadian employees say they’re planning to search for a new job in the second half of 2024, up from 41 per cent during the same period last year, according to a new survey by Robert Half Canada Inc.

The survey, which polled 600 workers and more than 200 hiring managers, found the main factors driving workers to seek new jobs were a higher salary (60 per cent), better benefits and perks (50 per cent), more flexibility (32 per cent) and a higher-level title (31 per cent).

Those who weren’t looking for new opportunities said it was because they like their team and company culture and don’t want to lose their current level of flexibility.

Read: 42% of Canadian workers looking for a new job in 2024: survey

Generation Z (69 per cent) was most likely to say they’d look for a new job, followed by millennials (47 per cent), generation X (44 per cent) and baby boomers (40 per cent).

More than half (58 per cent) of respondents said their top challenge when applying for jobs is making their resume stand out. Other obstacles they faced included a lack of salary transparency in the job posting (54 per cent) and finding the time to search and apply for jobs (50 per cent). However, 78 per cent of all respondents said they’re confident in their abilities and have taken steps to increase their value by learning new skills.

Notably, respondents also said they’d lose interest in a posted position if the title wasn’t in line with the required experience or education within the description (39 per cent), if onsite working was a requirement with no potential for remote work (39 per cent) or if the description contained vague or unreasonable job responsibilities (36 per cent).

“Even though optimism is high, job seekers continue to face challenges in the labour market and they need to take a strategic approach to their job hunting,” said Koula Vasilopoulos, senior managing director of Robert Half Canada, in a press release. “In addition, employers looking to attract top talent should be ensuring that their hiring processes, compensation packages and perks and benefits are competitive and aligned with what workers are looking for.”

Read: 84% of Canadian job seekers value work-life balance over climbing corporate ladder: survey