Despite rising COVID-19 cases and the reintroduction of public health restrictions, the seasonally adjusted number of active businesses* in Alberta increased by 55 (0.05%) to reach 116,552 in April (the most recent month for which data are available). It wasn’t a lot, but at least the arrow was pointing in the right direction.

The number of active businesses in the province was still down by 1,542 (1.3%) compared to February before the pandemic was declared.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the rise in active businesses doesn’t mean there were no closures, only that more businesses opened than closed in April. And, as mentioned in a previous Owl, we want to be seeing the number of businesses growing rather than playing catch-up.

Nationally, the number of active businesses grew by 0.9% in April and was only 0.1% shy of its pre-pandemic level.

*Active businesses are those businesses that reported having one or more employees in a given month.

Answer to the previous trivia question: At an impressive 4.3 metres high, St. Alberta is home to the world’s largest badminton racket.

Today’s trivia question: What is the largest business in Alberta (as measured by annual revenue)?