Job searches typically slow to a standstill at the end of the year as job hunters turn their attention to holiday parties and hunting down Fingerlings.

That all changes come January.

With the jobless rate at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent and the rate of people quitting their jobs at a post-recession high, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this month is poised to be a particularly popular time to jump-start a career change.

In previous years, job searches in the first week of January jumped as much as 70 percent from the average day, according to Monster job search data.

This year promises an even greater upswing. Nearly 4 in 10, or 38 percent, of working Americans are looking for a new job or plan to in 2018, according to a recent report by job-hunting site Glassdoor. That's up from previous years.

Overall, half of all those surveyed said they would consider looking for a new job in the year ahead. Glassdoor polled more than 2,000 employed adults in December.