Business Outlook Survey

• July 15, 2024

  Business Outlook Survey—Second Quarter of 2024

  Results from the Business Outlook Survey and the Business Leaders’ Pulse continue to signal weak demand, which is weighing on investment and hiring plans. While few firms are planning layoffs, labour markets are widely seen as continuing to soften. Although they remain above average, wage and inflation expectations are easing. Most firms that made abnormally large price increases in the past 12 months do not plan to do so again in the coming year.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Business Outlook Survey
• April 1, 2024

  Business Outlook Survey—First Quarter of 2024

  Business sentiment and sales growth expectations have stopped falling, according to firms responding to the Business Outlook Survey and the Business Leaders’ Pulse. But demand remains subdued, which is allowing price pressures and the labour market to ease. As a result, fewer firms than in the previous survey are planning unusually large or frequent price increases over the next 12 months.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Business Outlook Survey
• January 15, 2024

  Business Outlook Survey—Fourth Quarter of 2023

  Results from the Business Outlook Survey and the Business Leaders’ Pulse show that with high interest rates and soft demand, firms’ sales growth has slowed over the past 12 months. Firms are less optimistic about current business conditions than they were last quarter, but they expect their sales growth to stabilize in the coming year. With competition returning and demand remaining soft, businesses’ pricing behaviour is slowly returning to normal.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Business Outlook Survey