Gen Y spooked by IT job stability

Gen Y-ers were more concerned about employer stability in the wake of the financial crisis and had also changed their tune about the relative of importance of salary, according to recruiter Hays IT.

A survey of 668 jobseekers found that 48 percent of Generation Y workers - those born between 1982 and 2000 - were more risk averse in considering their next job move after the past year.

"One big change in perspective for Generation Y has been the replacement of salary with career progression as the most important consideration when looking for a job," said Peter Noblet, regional director of Hays IT.

"Another change [is that] 50 percent of Generation Y said that when looking for their next role, a company's stability is now far more important than before the GFC.

"This is likely because for the first time, this generation have seen first-hand how comforting employment with a stable company can be in times of broader economic turbulence."

This was a big contrast with Gen X and baby boomers who said their employer's stability remained "just as important as it always has".

Those two generations were also more likely to identify work/life balance as the most important consideration when looking for a new role.