CFIB survey reveals Alberta small businesses concerned lower spending here to stay

Currently, the Small Business Recovery Dashboard shows that in Alberta:

67 per cent of small businesses are fully open;
36 per cent are fully staffed
Only 21 per cent have resumed their normal sales levels.

As part of the #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign, CFIB encourages all Canadians to join the collective effort to support local small businesses.

This weekend, RBC’s Canada United campaign will give consumers even more motivation.

Simply by shopping at local businesses from August 28 to 30 and entering the contest on Canada United’s website, consumers will get a chance to win one of 25 prizes for $10,000.

Other initiatives and ideas to support local shopping are profiled on the SmallBusinessEveryDay website.

“As consumers, we can be creative and find different ways to support the small businesses that need it,“ added Jones. “Supporting our favourite businesses today gives them a tomorrow. The government can also help by ensuring support measures for big bills like rent are available.”

Meantime, Alberta’s 12-month small business outlook increased four points to an index of 64.3 in August on the CFIB’s Business Barometer®.

The three-month outlook remains significantly lower at 39.7 index points. An index level near 65 indicates the economy is growing at its potential.

“What ‘good performance’ means has changed for small business owners. Many may see just being here in 12 months as success,” said Ted Mallett, Chief Economist at CFIB. “Key performance indicators point to a sluggish but steady recovery, but capacity utilization remains low, particularly in the hospitality and arts and recreation sectors.”

On average, Alberta businesses are operating at 62.0 per cent capacity, an 8.8 per cent improvement over July, but well under what is considered necessary to be reliably profitable.

Only 21 per cent of Alberta business owners say their business is in a good state, compared to 46 per cent who say their business is in bad shape.

Hiring plans remain quite weak in Alberta with only 15 per cent of business owners planning to hire full-time staff in the next three months, while 28 per cent foresee cuts.

“All Albertans have a role to play to support our province’s job creators during this time, particularly to ensure their survival in the short-term,” said Keyli Kosiorek, CFIB’s Alberta policy analyst. “As the summer wraps up, we encourage everyone to shop local whenever possible and think #SmallBusinessEveryDay throughout the fall and winter months.”

Provincial results: Quebec and Prince Edward Island remain least optimistic

Nova Scotia was the most upbeat province at 68.0 index points, followed by Alberta (64.3), Ontario (63.1) and Saskatchewan (62.9). Quebec (43.9), Prince Edward Island (47.9) and New Brunswick (56.5) were the most downcast provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador (60.6), Manitoba (59.3) and British Columbia (58.2) stuck close to the national average.

Industry results: Natural resources and agriculture maintain lowest placement

Natural resources (46.0) and agriculture (52.6) remained the least optimistic industries, followed by personal services (53.2). On the other side of the spectrum, wholesale (64.3) and transportation (62.7) businesses posted the highest results

Read the August Business Barometer®

by rdnewsNOW staff

CFIB survey reveals Alberta small businesses concerned lower spending here to stay

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