More than half of IT professionals are planning to change jobs in the next 12 months, according to the results of a recent survey.

Clicks IT Recruitment have released the findings of its IT Employment Confidence Index survey, and the results are ‘surprising'.

The company says 57% of respondents will be looking for a new job in the next months, and a further 29% said they would move if approached with the right offer.

Ben Wood, Clicks managing director, says the high number may in part be due to the preference that many IT workers have for contract roles.

Clicks says the lack of optimism did extend to people's impressions of their employers' future, with 44% having a positive outlook, 37% neutral and 19% having negative outlook.

When asked to describe the current IT job market, 36% said it is hard to get a job, and only 11% felt there were plenty of jobs available. The remainder were sitting somewhere in between.

“When the above metrics are combined, it tells the story that IT professionals are not feeling concerned about being unable to find work,” Wood adds.

The survey found that 50% respondents felt positive about their employment prospects, with only 19% having negative feelings.

 “The flow-on effect of this is that employers will need a well-articulated value proposition, in order to both entice people to join them, and to retain their own good talent,” Wood explains.