Paul Martin’s Business Update – October 28th, 2014

This is Small Business month in Canada. Each year the role of small businesses – which account for virtually all the job creation in the nation – is honored by governments, businesses who are suppliers to small enterprises and service organizations such as Chambers of Commerce.

In Saskatchewan the month is always capped off with the annual ABEX Awards, the provincial chamber’s recognition of business excellence. This year’s edition is set for this weekend in Regina.

A new report from CIBC World Markets says small businesses were quick out of the gate from the recession of five years but now as the cycle matures they are falling behind the big firms which have finally caught up. They also found that small businesses are getting bigger.

Even the smallest ones saw the number of employees grow by 10 per cent in the last five years while those with 20 – 50 workers expanded their payrolls by 20 percent.

And the organization offers up its own evaluation of the most small business friendly jurisdictions….on that one, Saskatchewan came in tied for fourth.