TAIPEI, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 90 percent of employees in Taiwan are considering seeking a new job after the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 5 this year, indicating low pay as a major reason, a survey released by Taiwan's online job bank Yes123 showed Monday.

The rate of potential job-hoppers is the highest in 10 years, according to the survey. The estimated number of employed people in Taiwan is over 9 million.

Among those who intend to change jobs, 55 percent said it was due to being dissatisfied with salaries, followed by poor welfare provided by their companies, no chance of promotion, and having a bleak outlook for their companies.

As many as 65 percent of those said they had already begun to search for a new job.

Nearly 85 percent of the respondents said they were considering securing a job outside Taiwan with a higher pay.

Yang Tsung-pin, spokesman for Yes123, said a labor shortage could loom if the brain drain continued on the island, impacting Taiwan's overall competitiveness.

In order to tackle the job-hopping boom, 94 percent of the surveyed companies said they planned to recruit new staff after the new year, and 63 percent said they would only fill the vacancies after employees left.

The survey was based on questionnaires completed by 1,204 employees and 912 companies from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4.