Canadian workers are entering 2014 with a cautiously optimistic outlook for the job market and economy overall this year, according to The Randstad Canada Labour Trends Study 2014.

While nearly half of those surveyed, 48 percent, 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; percent of respondents felt more confident in the job market heading into this year and 27 percent said they feel less confident this year than they did at the beginning of last year.

Respondents working in a managerial or executive position are more confident (30.3 percent) than their below-manager counterparts (19.2 percent). Younger workers under the age of 35 are also more confident in the job market this year at 30.5 percent compared with 21.9 percent of workers age 35 to 54.

“While 2013 may not stand out in anyone’s mind as a banner year for the Canadian job market or the economy overall, it is encouraging to see even cautious optimism from both employees and employers about this year’s prospects on both fronts,” says Tom Turpin, president of Randstad Canada.

Of those polled, 33 percent said they expect it will be more difficult to find a new job in 2014 than it was in 2013, with 20 percent expecting it be an easier task than last year. However, 31 percent said they are likely to personally look for a new job in 2014.

Regionally, Albertans are the most confident when it comes to finding new jobs, with one-third feeling it will be easier to do so in 2014 than it was in 2013. Ontarians are the most pessimistic in Canada, with more than 40 percent anticipating finding a new job in 2014 will be more difficult than last year.

Regarding the economy, 30 percent said they feel more confident in the strength of the Canadian economy heading into 2014 than they were entering 2013, while another 50 percent said they felt about the same amount of confidence heading into this year as they did last year. Those in Alberta (35 percent) and British Columbia (32 percent) were the most confident in the strength of the Canadian economy heading into 2014, while those in Quebec (27 percent) and Atlantic Canada (22 percent) were the least.

Ipsos-Reid conducted the study on behalf of Randstad Canada and polled 2,076 Canadian employees and managers across the country. The survey was conducted between Dec. 20 and Dec. 29.