Not so long ago, employees desperately clung to jobs, due toconcerns about the economic downturn and high unemployment.However, the Q1 Glassdoor.com Employment Confidence Survey suggeststhis trend may be starting to erode.

In a survey conducted among 2,045 U.S. adults age 18 yearsand older, Glassdoor.com found that 40 percent of those polledbelieve it’s “likely” they could find a new job matched to theirexperience and compensation levels within six months if they losttheir job right now. This result represents the highest percentagein six quarters.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, also pointed outthat roughly one-third of those polled were uncertain they couldfind a new job matched to skills and compensation levels in asix-month period, while 28 percent believed it “unlikely” theycould do so.

Though employee confidence in the job market was on the rise,confidence in job security, pay raises and company outlooksremained flat. The Glassdoor.com report attributes this to the factthat employers continue cutting back in other areas, though therate of layoffs has declined in recent quarters. Still, more thanhalf of employees polled reported their employers changed orreduced compensation in the past six months, while slightly lessthan one-third indicated their personal compensation was eitherreduced or eliminated.

Rusty Rueff, Glassdor.com career and workplace expert, who alsoco-authored "Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side ofBusiness," said the survey should put employers on alert. On theone hand, he said, there is growing optimism about hiring, while onthe other hand, employees are somewhat more dismayed about what’sin store at their own companies.

"This report should put employers on alert as the economyimproves and employees become less risk-averse to change,” saidRueff, who also ran global HR departments at Electronic Arts andPepsiCo. “We're seeing early warning signs that employment churnwill rise, which will be another disruptive and costly outcome ofthe recession for those who don't prepare. Now is the time foremployers to reassess practices they put in place to get throughthe Great Recession and refresh their perspective on the pay anddevelopment needs of each of their employees."