In 2017, 2.3 million people in employment wanted to change jobs, i.e. just under one in ten workers. This desire for change can have very different main motivations depending on the situation of the people. For instance, 23% of them are mainly looking to increase their income by changing jobs, thus wishing to take the traditional path of upward professional mobility. The desire to earn more money is thus more frequently listed by those in lower-paid professions (workers, employees) and non-salaried workers (farmers, craftsmen). There are also those looking first and foremost for a more interesting job (16%). In addition, 19% of those who want to change jobs want to find a more stable job or fear losing their current job. This is the situation mainly with employees on short-term contracts (fixed-term contracts, temporary work), for whom it is less a desire than a necessity. Lastly, 27% of people who want to find another job want to improve their working conditions: they are more often women and people over the age of 50.

Only 38% of employed people who wish to find another job are actively looking for one, while others are not doing so mainly due to lack of time. All in all, the desires to change jobs rarely become reality in the short term: less than one in ten workers in this case found a new job in the following quarter.