A Grant Thornton survey shows Canadian small business owners expect to see economic improvements this year
Canadian small business owners hoping for recovery might find the relief they are looking for is near. A survey from Grant Thornton shows that almost three-quarters of business executives believe that they will see signs of economic recovery over the next 12 months.
More than half of the respondents - 51 percent - said they believe their revenues will rise this year. Additionally, 49 percent expect to see increases in profitability.
This optimistic outlook varied across provinces, with the Western provinces proving the most positive about the coming months. In the West, 84 percent of executives were either "very" or "slightly" optimistic.
Ontario was also optimistic, with 78 percent of executives claiming they are positive about quick recovery. Both Quebec and the Atlantic provinces had 68 percent of executives responding that they were "very" or "slightly" optimistic.
But not all the results are good news; 56 percent of respondents said they do not see employment changing in their companies, which could mean Canadians will see little improvement in the jobless rate.
Nonetheless, a recent report from Statistics Canada suggests that unemployment is improving, as Canada saw a gain of 22,000 non-farm payroll jobs at the end of last year.
