In this edition:
Businesses challenged by rising costs, hiring and recruitment, and supply chains
Ontario aims to remove barriers for foreign skilled workers
Statistics Canada: Businesses challenged by rising costs, hiring and recruitment, and supply chains
Employment fell by 200,000 (-1.0%) in January and the unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 6.5%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.8% on a year-over-year basis in December 2021, up from 4.7% in November. In an effort to combat the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, many jurisdictions had implemented stricter public health measures during the fourth quarter of 2021 and continuing through the first quarter of 2022. The combination of inflationary pressures, labour challenges, public health measures and supply chain issues have impacted businesses in a variety of different ways.
Businesses expect to face a variety of obstacles over the next three months is the rising cost of inputs related to rising costs, hiring and recruitment as well as those related to supply chains. Many businesses that are facing challenges maintaining inventory levels or acquiring inputs, products and supplies, either domestically or abroad, expect these challenges to worsen in the short term. Over the next three months, half of businesses expect their profitability to remain relatively unchanged, over one-third expect to increase the prices they charge and over three-quarters expect their number of employees to remain the same.
- The most commonly expected obstacle over the next three months is the rising cost of inputs, including labour, capital, energy and raw materials, with just over half (50.3%) of businesses expecting it to be an obstacle, up from 42.5% of businesses in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Just over half (50.3%) of businesses expected rising cost of inputs, including labour, capital, energy and raw materials to be an obstacle, up from 42.5% of businesses in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Shortage of labour force was expected to be an obstacle over the next three months for nearly two-fifths (37.0%) of all businesses, led by those in accommodation and food services (64.9%), construction (48.9%), manufacturing (48.1%) and retail trade (45.7%).
- Just over three-fifths (60.8%) of businesses indicated having some plans over the next 12 months related to recruitment, retention and training. Over two-fifths (44.9%) of businesses plan to increase wages offered to existing employees over the next 12 months, with over three-fifths (61.2%) of businesses in accommodation and food services and over half in wholesale trade (55.0%) and manufacturing (50.1%) planning to do so.
- Over one-third (35.6%) of businesses expect cost of insurance to be an obstacle over the next three months.
- Over one-third (34.6%) of businesses expect transportation costs to be an obstacle over the next three months.
- Nearly one-third (32.1%) of businesses expect difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies domestically in the next three months.
- Over one-third (35.7%) of businesses expect to raise prices in response to inflation, up from just over one-quarter (25.9%) of businesses that expected to do so in the fourth quarter of 2021
- Nearly half (49.6%) of businesses expect profitability to remain relatively unchanged. Over one-third (34.6%) expect their profitability to decrease over the next three months, while 12.9% expect their profitability to increase.
- Over three-quarters (77.8%) of businesses expect to retain the same number of employees over the next three months, similar to 77.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Conversely, 8.1% of businesses expect their number of employees to decrease, down from 9.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021. In accommodation and food services, 17.2% of businesses expect a decrease in the number of employees over the next three months.
Ontario aims to remove barriers for foreign skilled workers
Unfilled jobs cost the province billions in lost productivity, and between July and September of 2021, there were 338,835 vacant jobs across Ontario, including many in the skilled trades. To give Ontario a competitive advantage, the government plans to introduce legislation that ensures workers from other provinces can get their credentials processed within a service standard of 30 business days.
In addition, the government is proposing to recognize three fuel-related professions under the province’s skilled trades legislation, meaning Ontario will take steps to officially recognize all 55 Red Seal Trades. There are 144 trades currently prescribed under skilled trades legislation in Ontario. The Red Seal Program is a partnership between the federal government and provinces and territories that sets a common standard for apprenticeship training and certification and makes it easier for workers to move between provinces and territories. The full list of Red Seal trades, some of which will benefit from the 30-business-day registration period, includes construction electricians, tool and die makers and others.
Reading Recommendations
There is no supply chain resilience without cybersecurity
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Across every sector, less than 20% of businesses are implementing technological improvements to their supply chains, despite an increase in cyber-attacks, threats and breaches. It is absolutely essential that cybersecurity be part of any discussion on supply chain resilience moving forward.
While attacks against large organizations often grab headlines, the vast majority of attacks are on small businesses. Modern supply chains often involve hundreds of vendors to build a single product, providing attackers with multiple points of entry to disrupt a supply chain. It is imperative that we strengthen cybersecurity safeguards to secure our supply chains against these threats.”
The Canadian Survey of Business Conditions (CSBC) was created in the spring of 2020 by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Statistics Canada to ensure decision makers have timely, relevant data about what businesses are going through and how they are planning for the eventual recovery. The quarterly survey examines issues like the impact COVID-19 on businesses, changes businesses are making to adapt to evolving restrictions, and the challenges they expect to face as the recovery begins.
Pandemic created unprecedented challenges in Niagara and an opportunity to learn
Lynn Guerriero, President, Niagara Health
They say that timing is everything. I moved to Niagara and joined Niagara Health three weeks before the global COVID-19 pandemic was declared.
As you would expect, I planned to spend my first 12 months meeting as many people as I could and doing a lot of listening and learning.
These plans came to a screeching halt with the arrival of COVID-19 in Niagara and the urgent need to respond to this unprecedented health crisis.
Although not how I had initially expected, I have learned a lot about the hospital, the region and the health-care system in Niagara since I began working at Niagara Health on Feb. 18, 2020.
I am incredibly proud of the way our team has pulled together, wave after wave, to respond to the unrelenting demands of this pandemic. Our staff and physicians have worked tirelessly, for two years now, to provide safe, compassionate care to our patients and families — often sacrificing their own health and well-being. It would be an understatement to say that our team members are exhausted, having moved mountains to provide care during the last wave which brought unprecedented challenges.
I am also incredibly impressed with the many ways Niagara has demonstrated the true meaning of a kind and caring community. No one could have predicted the prolonged duration of this pandemic, the challenges it would throw at us, and the divisions it would create. Just like we have worked together and supported each other during the pandemic, we will now recover together.
Update on Ukraine
UK says it will work ‘all day’ to persuade Europe to cut Russia off from Swift
The Guardian
The UK has said it will work “all day” to persuade fellow European states to cut Russia off from the international Swift payment system.
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, ended the pretence that Britain was not at odds with its fellow European leaders over the issue. He said there was still time for Russia to be excluded, and the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said: “The UK is working with allies to exclude Russia from the Swift financial system.”
Wallace added: “We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy.”
Truss is to undertake a round of shuttle diplomacy to try to rally support for the British position after the EU refused to adopt what has been billed as the “nuclear option” of sanctions.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
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Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
