O Canada! Latest International Monster-GfK Survey Shows Canadians have the Strongest Belief in their Country's Competitive Spirit

Research Reveals that Four out of Five Canadians Believe Theirs is an Industrious Workforce, Working Harder than any Other Country

TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2013 /CNW/ - Monster.ca, the leader in successfully connecting people to job opportunities, and GfK, an independent global market research company, today released new international survey data looking at how strongly people believe in their country's competitive spirit. More than 8,000 respondents in seven countries were asked "In the face of an economic hardship, how would you rate your country's resilience/competitive spirit to arise from it?" The results show the Canadians lead the rankings of those most likely to say that their country would come back and be as competitive as ever, with Indians coming second:

1. Canada (43%)
2. India (40%)
3. United States (35%)
4. Germany (26%)
5. Netherlands (22%)
6. United Kingdom (20%)
7. France (7%)

"Canada's labour market has remained resilient in recent years, with low unemployment and strong demand for talent across sectors - factors that have likely contributed to the confidence people have in our country's competitive spirit," said Sheryl Boswell, Director, Marketing, Monster.ca. "Optimism is the greatest weapon a job seeker can possess as the search for better takes dedication and tenacity, so this positive attitude will serve jobseekers well. It certainly seems to help them find jobs they enjoy, as our previous study showed that Canada has the happiest workforce, with 64% of respondents saying they love or like their jobs a lot"

Looking more closely at the findings, although Canadians are the leaders in terms of belief in their country's competitive spirit, the majority of the population actually don't feel entirely confident about their country's ability to completely bounce back from economic hardship. Well over half of respondents (57%) think that Canada wouldn't be as competitive if it had to bounce back from hard times. In total, the following responses were received from the 1,001 people who responded to the survey in Canada:

• 43%  -  My country will come back and be as competitive as ever
• 25%  -  My country will come back and be slightly less competitive than before
• 9%  - Will come back, but it will not be as competitive as before
  14% - My country has the potential to come back, but I don't know if we will ever  be as competitive
• 2%    -  My country will never come back

Age and pay influence optimism levels
The research reveals that Canada's younger generations are marginally more confident than its baby boomers, with 45% of those aged 18 - 49 believing that Canada would come back and be as competitive as ever in the face of economic hardship. Comparatively, only 41% of those aged 50-and-over have this same level of confidence.

Income is also a factor in how confident people feel, with the country's highest earners the most likely to believe in Canada's resilience: over half (51%) of high earners think Canada would come back as competitive as ever in the face of economic hardship. Interestingly, it is low earners who are next on the optimism scale - 38% believe strongly in Canada's competitive spirit - followed by medium earners (31%), who have the least confidence in their country's resilience.

Who has the most industrious workforce?
The survey also asked respondents to rate theirs and other countries workforces on the trait of industriousness (meaning hard-working, innovative and constantly creating new ideas and products). Canadians consider their own nation the hardest working: more than four out of five respondents (83%) voted their workforce into the leading position. They judge China as the nation with the second hardest-working workforce (75%), followed by the United States (74%).

"As we've seen, Canadians are an optimistic people, imbued with a positive, can-do attitude - and they have faith in the commitment of their fellow workers," comments Boswell. ". Those Canadians who don't consider Canada an industrious nation might think about whether their own work environment is influencing this view - if they don't feel inspired by the attitude of their colleagues, it may be time to find better."

About the Survey
Surveying over 8,000 people in Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, UK and US, this survey was conducted using GfK's GLOBOBUS, a monthly global omnibus study.

In Canada, the data was collected using computer assisted telephone interviews, using dual frame sample, to maximize participation and representativeness of respondents, including landline and cell phones.  The total sample size for this study is 1,001.

About GfK
GfK is one of the world's largest research companies, with more than 13,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2012, GfK's sales amounted to €1.51 billion. To find out more, visit www.gfk.com

GfK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications is a division of GfK. The group specializes in customized public affairs and public opinion polling, media and corporate communications research, and corporate reputation measurement in the US and globally, in addition to delivering a broad range of customized research studies.

About Monster Worldwide
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW), is the global leader in successfully connecting job opportunities and people. Monster uses the world's most advanced technology to help people Find Better, matching job seekers to opportunities via digital, social and mobile solutions including monster.ca®, and employers to the best talent using a vast array of products and services. As an Internet pioneer, more than 200 million people have registered on the Monster Worldwide network. Today, with operations in more than 40 countries, Monster provides the broadest, most sophisticated job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management capabilities globally. For more information, visit monster.ca.

SOURCE: Monster