Business confidence in the Ontario economy is close to an all-time low.
A new report from the Windsor Essex Regional and Ontario Chambers of Commerce found more than 3-quarters of their membership have little confidence in the economic outlook. (24% have confidence)
It's one of the key findings in the first Ontario Economic Report.
That same survey also found about two-thirds of the respondents believed their own business would grow. (62%)
Local chamber president Matt Marchand sees several factors at play. "What they're lacking is confidence province-wide. Part of that is the high cost of doing business whether it's high electricity prices, cap and trade which is coming in and is very high cost, also uncertainty with what's going on in terms of the US."
Marchand says the official unemployment rate is missing a huge number of people. The survey found 35% of people are not working who are eligible to work.
He says that's more than one-third of the population of working age who aren't working and that's people who have basically given up looking for work for one reason or another.
Marchand says that's a missed opportunity and contributes to the skills gap where there are a number of companies that can't find people and at the same time we have a number of people who aren't even listed as unemployed.
Marchand also points to the ratio of exports from the GDP as a concern.
Ontario used to export half of what was made in the province, now its only one-third. (35%)