About 34 percent of employees in Shanghai have found a new job for the new year, or plan to find one, according to a recent study by the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau.

The bureau surveyed 5,112 employees, most of whom work in private firms, joint ventures and foreign-invested companies, over the past two weeks and asked about their year-end bonuses and career plans for the new year.

About three-quarters of those surveyed said they are expecting a year-end cash bonus for the Chinese Lunar New Year, and said that the reward would be about the same as last year, when bonuses ranged from 1,000 yuan (US$123) to 3,000 yuan.

Only about 10 percent of those surveyed expect the bonus to exceed 5,000 yuan.

About 76 percent of respondents said they are willing to give up their bonuses for a better job.

The survey reported that nearly 24 percent of local employees are actively preparing to change jobs -- attending job fairs and sending out resumes online. Another 10 percent of respondents said they have changed jobs within the last month.

A similar survey last year, found only 22 percent of respondents were in the process of looking for new jobs.

The majority of respondents said they are considering looking for a new job this year, but haven't taken any action yet.

Tao Yun, a spokesperson for the bureau, said that many people want to change jobs because they have better access to recruitment information resources and the job application process is becoming less complicated, thanks to many companies recruiting online.

"Thanks to rapid economic development in recent years, the city is able to create more than 600,000 job opportunities each year. Numerous job vacancies also create the right conditions for high mobility," Tao said.

But the survey also suggested that the pursuit of a better corporate culture or working environment is the biggest motivation for change, followed by a significant pay rise and interest in a different industry.

(Shanghai Daily January 25, 2006)