Job hunting jumps to 26.5% as Australian worker confidence rises

Australian employees are becoming more confident about their job prospects, but that confidence is also making them more willing to look elsewhere.

The latest Gartner Global Talent Monitor found that confidence in job availability among Australian employees rose to 56.3 in Q2 2026, up from a three-year low of 55.7 in Q4 2025.

At the same time, more employees are actively testing the job market. The share of workers actively seeking a new role increased from 19.4% in Q4 2025 to 26.5% in Q2 2026.

The findings are based on a survey of 820 Australian employees conducted between April and June 2026.

Confidence is rising, but employee loyalty is falling

The data points to a shift in employee behaviour. While workers are feeling more positive about the availability of jobs, fewer appear committed to staying with their current employers.

Confidence in the wider business environment also reached 48.8, its highest level in four years, compared with 47.4 in Q4 2025.

However, the proportion of employees intending to stay with their current employer fell from 38.1% to 34%.

The combination suggests that employees may be less likely to remain in their current roles simply because they believe alternative opportunities are limited.

Managers emerge as a key retention risk

The survey also highlights the growing importance of the employee-manager relationship.

Manager quality and respect ranked as the leading drivers of employee attrition, followed by work-life balance, people management, coworker quality and compensation.

Respect has also moved up three places among the factors influencing employees' decisions to leave.

The findings suggest that organisations may need to look beyond pay and benefits when addressing retention. The quality of day-to-day management, workplace relationships, flexibility and opportunities for career growth are increasingly important to employees.

Employers face a more mobile workforce

The rise in active job seeking comes as employees become more confident about their ability to find work.

For employers, this could make retention more challenging. Workers who previously stayed because of uncertainty around the wider job market may now feel more comfortable exploring other opportunities.

Career growth, effective management, flexibility and meaningful work are therefore becoming increasingly important as organisations compete to retain talent.

The findings also come as businesses continue to navigate the impact of AI on jobs, skills and workforce expectations, adding another layer of uncertainty to the employee-employer relationship.

For HR leaders, the message is clear: a stronger labour market can give employees more choice, making the quality of the workplace and the manager-employee relationship even more important to retention.