That's despite seven in ten wanting to stay for the long term.
New research published by Premier Youthwork Magazine has found although many of those who work with young people want to invest for a long period, they often don't feel like that is possible.
One of the suggestions given for their reservations over their futures is finances.
Writing in this month's edition, Andy Burns, Founder and CEO of Cafe Leadership characterised the feeling of some youth workers. He wrote: "The older I get, the more my financial outgoings don't match the average youth worker's salary.
"While no one goes into youth work to make their millions, employers need to recognise that financial outgoings increase over time and salaries need to reflect that."
He suggests churches who are struggling for finances should look to youthworkers to draw in extra funding.
Speaking to Premier, he said: "Most people who are in churches have a long term vision for their church. I think we've got into a habit of short term contracts. Maybe it's based around funding streams - we can commit to 3 years but don't know if we can commit to longer.
"I would suggest if it was a financial driver that makes it short term, why don't we recruit workers and say 'over the next three years we want you to start building the capacity so it sustains what you're doing."
Listen to Andy Burns speaking to Premier's Marcus Jones here:
This report is featured in this month's edition of Premier Youthwork magazine. To find out more about the research click here and to receive a free copy of the magazine click here.