By Divya Chowdhury

MUMBAI (Reuters) – A quarter of workers surveyed by PwC expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19% last year, as they are increasingly left cash-strapped in a cooling economy while dealing with inflationary pressures.

Even as the ‘Great Resignation’ continues, around 42% of the employees surveyed by PwC in its new study of the global workforce said they are planning to demand payrises to cope with the higher cost of living, up from 35% last year.

Some 46% of respondents to the ‘2023 Hopes and Fears Global Workforce Survey’, which polled 54,000 workers in 46 countries, said either that their households were struggling to pay bills every month, or that they could not pay bills most of the time.

“With the ongoing economic uncertainty, we see a global workforce that wants more pay and more meaning from their work,” said Bhushan Sethi, joint global leader of PwC’s people & organization practice.

Some 38% said they had money left over at the end of the month, down from 47% last year. Around one worker in five is doing multiple jobs, with 69% of those saying they were doing so for additional income.

“Purpose, company culture and inclusion also remain key to employee concerns,” the survey found.

Workers who are struggling financially are also less able to meet the challenges of the future, including investing in developing new skills and adapting to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

Among the workers surveyed who were doing better financially, more than one-third said AI will improve their productivity, while a quarter expected AI to create new job opportunities.

Younger workers, including Gen Z and millennials – people born after 1981 – expect to see a positive impact from AI on their careers over the next five years, the survey found.

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(Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Mumbai; Editing by Jan Harvey)