(File photo/CKOM News)

By Derek Craddock

BUSINESS BAROMETER

Small business confidence in Saskatchewan drops in January: CFIB

Jan 31, 2022 | 3:00 PM

Small business owners in Saskatchewan are feeling less optimistic despite potential changes to Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 rules.

This comes from the latest Business Barometer from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) showing confidence dropped overall in January.

When looking at the national stats, the confidence level among businesses was around 54 points (out of 100) in the long term but only 36 points in the short term. For Saskatchewan, those numbers are 49 and 41 respectively.

“We’re seeing small business confidence at an all-time low, basically at lows that we haven’t seen since the start of the pandemic,” said Brianna Solberg with the CFIB in Saskatchewan.

She added Saskatchewan might not be seeing the same restrictions as the rest of Canada but we’re still not immune to the impact of the pandemic.

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“Inflation, labour shortages, and decreased sales as people, consumers are staying home and will continue to stay home until the public health messaging becomes, ‘okay, it’s fine to go out and go to theatres and gather in public spaces.”

The CFIB said some of the hardest-hit sectors during the Omicron wave have been hospitality, retail, and personal services.

The CFIB has given its budget recommendations to the provincial government in the hopes small businesses will be at the forefront of the government’s plan as they prepare the next budget.

As for any future optimism for small business in Saskatchewan, Solberg said the potential for easing restrictions in the province could be a bright spot.

“That sort of messaging will go hopefully a long way to help encourage people to start living their lives again,” she said. “But over the long-term, I think it remains to be seen whether the public health messaging across the country changes and people start feeling confident to go out.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @pa_craddock