The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reports that 34% of transportation companies surveyed were forced to turn away businesses because of labour shortages, while 16% postponed contracts.
Its report –Small Businesses in Canada Hit Hard: The Big Financial Toll of Labour Shortages – CFIB reports the transportation sector alone lost close to $1.8 billion in business opportunities because of the shortage of labour.
“We always knew labor shortages came at a high price to small businesses. Staffing challenges cause employers to work more hours, reduce their hours of operation and decline services and contracts, simply because they can’t find enough staff to fully operate their business,” CFIB economist and report author Laure-Anna Bomal said in a press release.
“In fact, we estimate the business opportunities that small businesses lost in just one year due to labour shortages are worth over $38 billion. While it doesn’t necessarily mean the Canadian economy lost the same amount, it’s still a significant share of revenue that small businesses could have used to invest in automation or growing their business.”
Overall, 53% of surveyed small business owners reported labour shortages are hindering business growth.