70% of small biz drowning in average debt of $170Gs: CFIB
Across the whole economy, the debut totals $135 billion, up from the CFIB’s previous estimate of $117 billion in July 2020
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Publishing date:Feb 25, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 2 minute read • comment bubbleJoin the conversation
Businesswoman closing her business activity due to covid-19 lockdown. Owner with surgical mask close the doors of her store due to quarantine coronavirus damage. Close up sign of bankrupt business due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.
Businesswoman closing her business activity due to covid-19 lockdown. Owner with surgical mask close the doors of her store due to quarantine coronavirus damage. Close up sign of bankrupt business due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.
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The latest statistics about small business debt in Canada during COVD-19 are pretty devastating.
A new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says seven in 10 small business owners are facing an average debt now of almost $170,000 each.
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Across the whole economy, the debut totals $135 billion, up from the CFIB’s previous estimate of $117 billion in July 2020.
“Over the last six months, the average debt taken on by small businesses to deal with COVID-19 has grown significantly,” said CFIB’s executive vice-president Laura Jones in a statement.
“While many businesses had previously reopened and were attempting to regain lost sales, the second wave and the restrictions that came with it are putting a massive wrench in an already slow recovery for small businesses.”
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The CFIB’s Your Voice Survey was an online poll taken by 3,554 small business owners in Canada from Feb. 4 to 8 this month.
The report also says of those that have taken on debut, 76% of them will need more than a year to repay it and 11% indicating they may not be able to repay it at all while the hospitality sector was the most likely to take on debt with 91% indicating so.
Four in ten businesses also said it would be at least a year from now, if not longer, for them to return to normal profit levels, not including any debt repayment.
“Small businesses need our support through this challenging time,” said CFIB research analyst and lead report author Taylor Matchett in a statement.
“We must also keep in mind that businesses are much more fragile now than at the beginning of the pandemic, and every effort should be made to keep businesses open while managing the health implications of the virus.”
For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-1.6%, 19 times out of 20, the federation said.
jstevenson@postmedia.com
Across the whole economy, the debut totals $135 billion, up from the CFIB’s previous estimate of $117 billion in July 2020.
torontosun.com