Employee loyalty is in rapid decline with staff constantly looking for potential new posts. That is the finding of a new report into job-seeking habits from recruitment giant Adecco, which found that the situation is particularly serious in the IT sector where staff shortages and rapid salary inflation are making it increasingly difficult for managers to retain staff.

The survey of 1,000 workers across all sectors found that while 82 percent believe they will be in the same job in 12 months time, four out of 10 had applied for a job or registered with a recruitment consultant in the past year.

IT professionals were even more likely to move, with only 68 percent still seeing themselves in the same job in a year's time and almost half having registered with a recruitment agency in the past 12 months.

Steve Kirkpatrick, managing director of Adecco, said in a statement: "We are seeing a high number of UK workers taking an ‘always on the look out’ approach to job hunting. In an increasingly competitive market, UK employees are aware that while they may feel content and motivated in their current position, it is important to keep new opportunities on the radar.”

IT professionals ranked a better salary elsewhere as the top reason to move job, suggesting that with IT wages continuing to climb the currently high rates of attrition are set to continue. A survey earlier this month of 5,000 IT professionals from the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco) and recruitment firm The Skills Market found that average salaries have climbed 18 percent in the past year to £34,500.