Job-hopping is shaping the global employment landscape. But while it offers career growth and skill diversification, it can also raise red flags for employers.
This 21st-century work trend varies widely based on industry, individual skill set, and, as this latest study from resume.io shows, location.
Based on data collected from LinkedIn, it highlights the percentage of job hoppers and loyal workers in major cities across the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.
What is Job-Hopping?
Job-hopping describes workers who switch jobs frequently to sample different roles, industries, or company cultures.
Job-hopping can be a double-edged sword: it can either propel a career forward or make potential employers hesitant to invest in a person who is likely to move on after a few months.
Either way, skills are key. In-demand skills, especially in tech, increase a job-hopper’s marketability and bargaining power. Specialized skills make them attractive to recruiters, and employers are more willing to overlook frequent moves for top talent.
Job Hopping in the USA
Berkeley, California, is the job-hopping capital of the USA. Almost 20% of workers stay in their role for less than a year.
Berkeley is right inside the Silicon Valley hub. It’s packed with super-smart graduates with in-demand skills. These people can work anywhere and are often targeted by recruiters at startups and major tech companies.
Rochester, Wisconsin, is the city where loyalty matters for workers. Over one in three people stay with their employer for over a decade.
Job Hopping Across the Pond
Workers in Manchester, UK, are always looking to move on to bigger, better, and higher-paying roles. The northern city has a job-hopping turnover rate of 20%.
This is primarily due to the city’s high number of students and graduates, who are quick to climb up the career ladder once they have a few months of real-world experience on their CV.
It’s a short drive across the North West from Manchester to the UK’s most loyal city for workers, which is Preston. Almost 1 in 4 workers here haven’t changed jobs in over a decade.
The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK government department responsible for collecting taxes, is the city’s largest employer. Collecting taxes might not be the most exciting job in the world, but it offers stability, a good salary, and, crucially, a generous civil service pension for loyal employees.
Job-Hopping Down Under
Brisbane and Adelaide are famous for the boomerang recruitment economy, where workers often leave roles but return less than a year later, often with the promise of higher pay and promotions.
People in Newcastle, New South Wales, have a more old-school approach to employer/employee relationships. One in five workers has been in their current roles for over a decade.
Canadian Job-Hopping
Vancouver’s tech sector is booming. In fact, it’s growing too fast. There aren’t enough workers to fill all the vacant tech roles, creating a buyer’s market where those with the right skills can pick and choose the best jobs, often for the best salaries.
It’s one of the main reasons why 1 in 5 workers in Vancouver don’t stay with their current employer for more than a year.
