Pessimism despite the fact that UK unemployment figures have fallen to a three year low. Today, a new survey reveals just one in five Britons (20 percent) believe the UK will come back from economic hardship as competitive as ever. This is despite recent news that unemployment figures have fallen to a three-year-low of 7.6 percent.*

The research, which was carried out by Monster.co.uk and GfK, an independent international market research company, studied the varying levels of optimism in seven countries. The international survey polled more than 8,000 workers including almost 2,000 in the UK, asking: “In the face of economic hardship, how would you rate your country’s resilience/competitive spirit to arise from it?”

Britain’s younger generations are the most doubtful with only one in six (16 percent) under-35 year-olds saying that the UK will become as competitive as ever, compared to 22 percent of those aged over 35. The research also shows that income impacts on British optimism. While three in ten (29 percent) of the UKs top earners think that the country will come back as competitive as ever, this number slides to 21 percent of medium earners and just 17 percent of those on low incomes.

“The recession set back UK labour market growth and affected opportunities for younger workers in particular, so it’s understandable that many Brits don’t feel too optimistic about the country’s competitive spirit,” commented Andy Sumner, Managing Director, Monster UK & Ireland. “That said, it seems as though we have recently turned the corner, with unemployment falling and wages edging upwards. Regardless of market conditions it’s important for jobseekers to try and be positive and keep looking for better, which we believe is out there.”

Who has the most industrious workforce?
The survey also asked respondents to rate their and other countries’ workforces on the trait of industriousness (meaning hard-working, innovative and constantly creating new ideas and products). The results show that although three in five Brits (59 percent) think their own workforce is industrious, the remainder are not so convinced. In comparison, China is rated the most industrious nation: 80 percent of UK respondents consider the Chinese workforce hard-working. Germany is close behind with 76 percent.

“We aren’t a nation giving to boasting, and our general fondness for cynicism could explain why some respondents are keen to downplay the country’s strength,” said Sumner. “However, OECD data shows that Brits have some of the longest working hours in Europe, so you might expect that more UK respondents would rate their workforce as industrious. Those Brits who really don’t consider the UK an industrious nation might think about whether their own work environment influences this view – if they don’t feel inspired by the attitude of their fellow workers, it may be time to find a better job.”
* Office of National Statistics July-September 2013 report.

Survey data
The UK’s resilience/competitive spirit as seen by Brits:
20 percent – My country will come back and be as competitive as ever
23 percent – My country will come back and be slightly less competitive than before
23 percent – Will come back, but it will not be as competitive as before
25 percent – My country has the potential to come back, but I don’t know if we will ever be as competitive
10 percent – My country will never come back

Ranking of most industrious nations according to Brits:
China
Germany
U.S.
Canada
India
UK
Netherlands
France

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 the UK, the data was collected using Computer Assisted Personal interviews to maximise participation and representativeness of respondents, including younger and older adults. The total UK sample size is 1,968.