Four out of 10 job-seekers are prepared to drop their salary expectations by 20% in exchange for a new job and 7% would take a job at half the pay level they expect.

A survey from job board tiptopjob.com shows just 17% of 918 people surveyed would refuse to accept a new job that did not match their previous pay packet.

Half of those surveyed had been searching for a new job for more than six months.

Mike Dauncey, head of tiptopjob.com, said: "It is good to see people have started to abandon pie-in-the-sky ideas about finding a ‘perfect job' that matches or improves on their previous salary. In this recession people need to be focused on simply getting back to work."