Canada

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Canadians expect year-end bonuses

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 12/3/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

TORONTO -- One in four working Canadians responding to a BMO survey says he or she expects to get a year-end bonus this holiday season.

The report also suggests that of those who are eligible to receive a bonus, 44 per cent anticipate taking one home, up significantly from 29 per cent last year.

About 86 per cent of those expecting a year-end bonus believe it will be the same or more than last year.

Half of those expecting bonuses say they'll use it to boost savings or pay down debt.

The next most popular way to spend bonuses was to help pay for holiday spending.

Canadians appear confident they'll get bonuses as businesses sit on piles of cash, but also amid a stalling economy.

Statistics Canada reported there was no growth in gross domestic product during that month following a 0.1 per cent dip during August.

"This year, businesses owners have shown a remarkable resiliency and moved forward with plans to invest and grow their business," said Steve Murphy, senior vice-president of BMO Commercial Banking.

"In this economic environment, many Canadian business owners are looking to strike the right balance between rewarding the contributions of their employees with the need to maintain efficient business operations. One thing we know, from talking with entrepreneurs, is the importance they place on their employees and the role they play in their companies' success."

BMO's Commercial Banking Holiday Survey was conducted online by Pollara among a sample of 1,000 Canadians between Nov. 23 and Nov. 27.

The polling industry's professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 3, 2012 A9

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