Almost 30% of small business owners are planning to hire new full- or part-time employees within the next 12 months, according to an RBC/Ipsos Reid small business survey released today.
Mike Michell, RBC’s national director of small business, said, “Small businesses are an important driver of the economy.
“It’s a very positive sign that, despite challenging times, almost three in 10 Canadian business owners are telling us that they are preparing to invest in new employees.”
The survey found that 32% of all business owners with companies ranging in size from five to 25 employees saw hiring qualified employees to be one of the biggest challenges that Canadian entrepreneurs are seeing.
The survey found areas that small business owners were willing to invest in over the next two years included:
- equipment (35%);
- technology (29%);
- products and services (27%);
- hiring new employees (17%); and
- training (17%).
“The intention to invest in their enterprises demonstrates the continued resiliency of Canadian small business owners,” said Michell. “Many may see this as a good time to take advantage of low interest rates and perhaps purchase new equipment in USD or other currencies that have lost ground to our Canadian dollar.”
Small businesses accounted for 43% of all new private-sector jobs in the last 10 years, according to Statistics Canada.
