Business owners on the Prairies are losing ground to other regions when it comes to optimism about the future. This comes from the Bank of Canada’s latest Business Outlook Survey.
When the quarterly report came out three months ago, we lagging behind Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic regions while BC business owners were exhibiting a more negative outlook then we were showing. But over the summer that changed and we fell behind all regions by the end of Q3. The survey was conducted before the latest round of increases in COVID cases.
All regions were showing a negative bias in this report so more people are sitting on the ‘worried’ side of the equation than would consider themselves ‘upbeat’ which translates into forecasts for reduced capital investment and slow job creation. While we remain on the negative side of the measurement, businesspeople are feeling much better than they were at the end of June, near the peak of the lockdown.
Sales improved over the summer but most are expecting the growth will slow and some are noting increased costs due to COVID prevention measures.
Source: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2020/10/business-outlook-survey-autumn-2020/
