The report said that among businesses who said they were facing labour shortages, 73 per cent said that owners themselves took on more hours to make up for the gap. In these instances, small business owners worked an average of 59 hours per week, according to CFIB.“This is a lot of time, of course, that business owners could spend on other priorities … such as growing their business or looking into government programs and developing strategies.
While general business labour shortages are showing signs of easing, those in need of specialized talent are continuing to come up empty handed in many cases. In Newark’s case, she says that much of the administrative work that takes up most of her time does not have a quick solution through automation.
There’s an economic risk for Canada if its businesses can’t find workers, according to the CFIB report.