The share of business owners who are optimistic for the national economy in the next 12 months is now in single digits
Confidence in the Canadian economy has fallen significantly among businesses according to the people who manage their finances.
A survey of chartered accountants in public and private companies reveals that just 9% of businesses are optimistic about the economy for the next 12 months, down from 52% a year ago.
The CPA Canada survey shows that inflation is the main concern (26%) followed by interest rate increases (16%) and the state of the global economy (15%).
Almost three quarters of respondents said that inflation is hurting their own company and 4 in 10 think inflation will impact their business for at least another year.
The share that expects revenue to rise in their company in the next year was 52%, down from 74% a year ago and just 42% expect profits to increase, a 20-percentage-point decline.
Lower hiring plans
The weakened sentiment is likely to filter into the Canadian labour market in the coming months, as business leaders become more cautious about increasing payroll costs.
"Canadian business leaders expressed decreased optimism in their business outlook, with hiring plans being negatively impacted," says David-Alexandre Brassard, CPA Canada's chief economist. "Our results show only 37% believe they will have more employees one year from now, compared to 52% last year."
