Budgets/Spending/Market Size

These are challenging times and to a large extent, previous models and economic expectations will have to be revised as our society muscles through this public health crisis.

British Columbia's lowest paid workers got a pay increase Monday with a scheduled minimum wage hike at a crucial time for small businesses as they look for ways to continue operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of Western Ontario’s Human Environments Analysis Lab (HEAL) has launched a study of employees and owners/managers in the grocery and foodservice sectors to determine COVID-19’s impact on their industry.

Canadian manufacturing sales posted their biggest percentage drop since the financial crisis in March and economists warned sales are expected to continue to fall in April as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a crawl.Royal Bank senior economist Nathan Janzen said Thursday that the economic data will also likely get significantly worse in April with containment measures in place for the entire month.“Beyond that, we could see some improvement in May already with social/distancing measures easing in spots, but the drop in activity in March and April is still likely to be staggering, and entirely unprecedented in modern measured economic data,'' Janzen wrote in a brief note.Statistics Canada reported Thursday manufacturing sales fell 9.2% to $50.8 billion in March, the lowest level since June 2016, as factories shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic or faced sharply lower demand.The average estimate by economists was for a drop of 5.7%, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.In volumes terms, manufacturing sales fell 8.3%.Sales fell in 17 of 21 industries led by the transportation equipment industry which plunged 26.5% in March as Canadian auto assembly plants and several parts suppliers in North America cut production.

Statistics Canada says retail sales in Canada posted their biggest monthly decline on record in March and warned that the drop for April will eclipse that loss.The agency says retail sales fell 10.0% to $47.1 billion in March as non-essential businesses began to shut their doors mid-month due to the pandemic.The drop was in line with economists' expectations of 10 per cent, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Statistics Canada also says a preliminary estimate for April indicates a 15.6% drop for the first full month of the pandemic.The March decline came as sales plunged at motor vehicle and parts dealers, clothing and clothing accessories stores and gasoline stations, while sales at grocery stores soared.Excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales were down 0.4% for the month.

The Calgary-based company says that equalled a loss of 53 cents per diluted share, compared with a profit of 52 cents per share or $77 million a year earlier.

The first payments from a $73-billion federal wage subsidy program will flow by the end of the first week of May, acting as a buttress against the economic shock from COVID-19.

In an effort to encourage retail employees to continue working, Quebec is offering an incentive for those in essential services, such as convenience, gas and grocery, which amounts to $100 a week for full-time and part-time workers.