CALGARY -- A year into the pandemic, a new report shows how many Albertans have had to dip into their savings due to job loss or lost wages. It also shows their financial wellbeing is worse in the west than it is in eastern Canada.
The survey from FP Canada, the national group that certifies financial planners, shows that 57 per cent of working Albertans say their professional lives have been impacted during the pandemic. It shows that 24 per cent of people in this province were forced out of work and 25 per cent had their hours cut back.
"Because there was just so much less economic activity happening in the world that really impacted economies like (Alberta's)," said Kevin Cork, a Calgary financial planner with the Absolute Group.
Cork says many people in this province had to use their savings to cover expenses, with 31 per cent of Albertans reporting they were unable to save at all over the last 12 months. That's the highest rate in the country.
Businesses pivot to stay afloat
It has been almost exactly one year since Laser City laser tag was able to properly open its locations in Calgary and Edmonton.
Every industry has been impacted during the pandemic, but the entertainment industry has been especially hurt because it relies so much on large groups gathering.
"We reckon that we're down about 85 per cent in sales, so we've done 15 per cent of what we would've done in this 12 month period," said Rob Davy, who owns the Laser City locations in the province's two biggest cities.
"Believe me that was not a fun calculation to do."
The massive locations in Calgary were built to have hundreds of people playing laser tag, mini paintball and arcade games all at once. Davy said they've had to be completely shut down for seven of the last 12 months.
He laid off his 40 part-time staff when health restrictions were first implemented last March.
"We weren't allowed to be open, so there was just no work for them to do unfortunately," he said.
Davy's remaining small staff have done their best to pivot during the pandemic. They offer VR rentals and launched Codo.ca, which hosts online children's camps and after-school gaming clubs.
Davy doesn't think it's unfair that his industry has had to be closed for so much of the last year, but he's certainly looking forward to reopening fully.
"We don't know when that's going to be, just like everyone else," he said.
