2020 MANITOBA BUSINESS OUTLOOK SURVEY
Perspectives from the 2020 Manitoba Business Outlook Survey COVID-19: CREATING AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR BUSINESS T o say the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Manitoba’s economy and business community would be an understatement.
• Most leaders say they’ve restricted spending given the uncertainty (60% of respondents), and more than half (54%) say they’ve experienced a decrease in sales. • There are gaps in information related to government emergency relief and support programs, and there are opportunities to enhance overall communication. • Employees are experiencing high levels of stress. (18% of respondents said employee well-being/mental health was their top concern). “This survey, our third annual, is a key barometer for us, and we use it to assess economic confidence levels, identify challenges and barriers to growth, and shape our advocacy efforts,” says Chuck Davidson, MCC President & CEO. “This year’s results paint a fairly dark picture, as confidence is clearly shaken and Manitoba’s business leaders are operating in a fairly precarious position.” Roughly one in five survey respondents (18%) reported that COVID-19 has had
an “extremely negative impact on their operations” and just under half (48%) say it has had a “medium impact.” Unfortunately, Manitoba’s small businesses and the tourism/restaurant/hospitality industries were more likely to report an “extremely negative impact,” just as they did in MCC’s March 2020 survey at the outset of the pandemic. “In the spring, diligent Manitobans did an incredible job of bending the COVID-19 curve, the stay-at-home order was a sharp event, and there was a light at the end of the tunnel,” says Andrew Enns, Executive VP – Winnipeg, Leger. “The harsh reality is that COVID-19 has been with us a long time, we’re exhausted from the extra operational demands it has created, physical distancing is mentally tough, health order restrictions are tightening, case numbers are trending in the wrong direction, and we’re not able to look forward to 2021 with much anticipation or positivity.” The survey revealed that one-quarter of businesses (25%) have accumulated debt because of the pandemic, 45% say they’re CONTINUED ON PAGE 9>>
The 2020 Manitoba Business Outlook Survey, conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 16, 2020, re-affirmed what the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce (MCC) has heard from members and the broader business community since the declaration of the pandemic: COVID-19 is the defining force for all decision-making, flowing as a dark undercurrent in some sectors while decimating others. Commissioned by the MCC and delivered in conjunction with partners Leger, CPHR Manitoba, World Trade Centre Winnipeg, Red River College, the Rural Manitoba Economic Development Organization, and Manitoba Business Matters, the survey revealed: • Cash flow is the single greatest concern for Manitoba businesses (29% of survey respondents say it’s their chief concern).
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WINTER 2020
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