The City of Sault Ste. Marie and the Algoma Workforce Investment Corporation (AWIC) have collected the data from the business impact survey for the month of April. The monthly surveys are designed to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on local businesses and organizations during and beyond the pandemic.
The survey was conducted between April 16 and April 23, 2020 and was distributed to employers by the City of Sault Ste. Marie, the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce, SooToday and AWIC. As of April 23, there were 622 responses to the survey. Of those respondents, 37% ranked the impact of COVID-19 on their organization as 'High - this could put us out of business' while 44% ranked the impact as 'Medium - this is going to significantly impact our financials'.
In addition, those that completed the survey associated job loss with COVID-19. Employers were asked the size of their workforce as of February 1, 2020 and April 1, 2020. Respondents to this question reported that they have had to layoff 40% of their workforce in response to COVID-19.
“The feedback collected for the month of April is critical for us as we communicate the needs of the community directly to municipal, provincial and federal governments. It will also assist with providing post-crisis recovery,” said Tom Vair, Deputy CAO, Community Development and Enterprise Services. “The pandemic has had major impacts in the local area and around the world, on businesses, livelihoods and jobs. The information will help inform how our community will respond.”
To see the complete survey results for the month of April visit saultstemarie.ca/covid19businesses. To learn more about the monthly survey or if you have any questions, contact AWIC at: [email protected].
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