Canada / One-third will look for a new job in 2014

While 2013 ended on a down note, with the loss of 48,000 jobs across Canada in December, a new study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Randstad Canada shows that Canadian workers are entering 2014 with a cautiously optimistic outlook for the job market and economy overall this year.

The Randstad Canada Labour Trends Study 2014, polling 2,076 Canadian employees and managers across the country on their expectations for the coming year, revealed that three-in-ten respondents (30%) said they feel more confident in the strength of the Canadian economy heading into 2014 than they were entering 2013, while another 50% said they felt about the same amount of confidence heading into this year as they did last. Those in Alberta (35%) and British Columbia (32%) were the most confident in the strength of the Canadian economy heading into 2014, while those in Quebec (27%) and Atlantic Canada (22%) were the least.

Canadians Split About Confidence in the Job Market

While nearly half (48%) of the 2,076 Canadians polled said they feel about the same amount of confidence in the job market in 2014 as they did in 2013, those that do feel differently than last year are decidedly split. While one-quarter (25%) of respondents felt more confident in the job market heading into this year, slightly more (27%) said they actually feel less confident this year than they did at the beginning of last year.

One-Third of Canadians Will Look for a New Job in 2014

Of those polled, one-third (33%) said they expect it will be more difficult to find a new job in 2014 than it was in 2013, with only one-in-five (20%) expecting it be an easier task than last year. Even so, three-in-ten (31%) currently employed Canadians say they are likely to personally look for a new job in 2014.

Women in particular are more concerned with ease of mobility between jobs this year – while nearly half feel that their prospects of finding a new job will be about the same as 2013, almost two-in–five (38%) feel it will be more difficult for job seekers to find a new job this year than it was last.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Canadian Workers Cautiously Optimistic About Job Market, Economy in 2014.

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