Job insecurity is on the rise among UK workers, according to Spring’s ‘Employee Outlook’ survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Job insecurity has edged up since the previous quarter, with 21% of employees thinking it likely they could lose their jobs as a result of the downturn compared to 20% last quarter.

However, there remains a big difference in the sectors, with 30% of public sector employees say it is likely they could lose their job, compared to 19% of those in the private sector and 27% in the voluntary sector.

Meanwhile, job satisfaction fell over the quarter from +39 to +34, with employees working in the voluntary sector remaining the most satisfied (+44), followed by public sector workers (+38) and private sector staff being least satisfied (+33).

The proportion of staff looking for a new job with a new employer rose to 24% from 19% for the previous quarter.

Claire McCartney, CIPD resourcing and talent adviser, says: “The survey findings highlight the importance of senior leaders in organisations putting even more emphasis during tough times on how they communicate, consult and involve staff where major changes such as restructuring or redundancies are being proposed.

“The job satisfaction scores provide evidence once again of a ‘fixed grin’ effect, where workers tend to be more satisfied during tough times. This time public sector workers display that ‘fixed grin’, with job satisfaction among this group considerably higher than private sector workers, despite or perhaps because of the turmoil being experienced by the sector. In these circumstances it seems employees are more satisfied simply to have a job.”