BDC anticipates good levels of investment in 2022

However, the scourge of labor shortages is here to stay, according to the foundation

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) published in December 2021 a very interesting study titled “Entrepreneurs Investment Perspective 2022”⋅in Canada “.

This document is based on a survey of 1,000 business owners (SMEs) across Canada to find out their business expectations and investment intentions.

In particular, we learn that:

84% of companies plan to invest more or at the same level in the next 12 months. (An increase of 8 points compared to December 2020)
31% of companies limit their investments due to economic instability. (Down by 8 points compared to December 2020)
55% of companies find it difficult to hire qualified workers. (highest point of December 2020)
74% of companies expect Canadian economic conditions to improve or remain the same. (12 points increase compared to December 2020)
87% of companies plan to hire or retain the same number of employees. (10 points higher than in December 2020)
83% of companies expect their sales to increase or remain stable. (An increase of 13 points compared to December 2020)

BDC Chief Economist Pierre Claireau is generally optimistic. “Despite slowing economic growth in the fall, the Canadian economy is expected, in early 2022, to return to pre-pandemic levels,” he wrote in his opening notes to the aforementioned study.

However, Mr Cléroux identified some challenges that still had to be faced, concurring with economist Joëlle Noreau of Desjardins Group (see other text).

“Thanks to vaccination, the fear of further closures is starting to fade and companies are optimistic by 2022. However, a structural problem (labor shortage) and a situational issue (supply chain disruptions) associated with reopening, will limit investments,” he believes.

Image credit: BDC

Source: BDC