Majority Of Canadian Businesses Say April Revenues Fell By Third Or More Amid Pandemic

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2020) A majority of Canadian businesses have reported that their revenues declined by one-third or more in April 2020 compared to the same period last year, Statistics Canada said in its Impact of COVID-19 on businesses in Canada report for May.

"Over half (51.6%) of businesses reported that their revenues for the month of April were down 30% or more compared with April 2019. More than one-third (35.3%) of businesses reported that revenues were down by half or more," the survey revealed on Tuesday.

The report found that over 75 percent of businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector as well as those in the food services segment experienced a revenue decline of 30 percent or more year-on-year amid the economic carnage triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The report said that professional, scientific and technical services as well as finance and insurance sectors were largely spared the worst of the economic impact.

The report also found that 65.8 percent of employers expected to keep staffing levels steady in the coming three months, while 8.6 percent of businesses indicted an intention to downsize. Only 15.1 percent of businesses said that they expected to hire employees in the next quarter.

The Canadian government estimates that the economy will contract by 6.8 percent in 2020, with the worst of the losses coming in the second quarter, before rebounding to a growth rate of 5.5 percent in 2021.