Airdrie Economic Development (AED) conducted a survey to see how local businesses are really doing in the economic downturn.

The Business Visitation and Survey Program surveyed 177 businesses in response to the changing political and economic state of Alberta.

“We designed the program to help us determine how the downturn has affected Airdrie businesses. We were surprised to hear that most businesses were finding ways to trim costs and find efficiencies without letting go of their staff,” said Kent Rupert, Team Leader for Airdrie Economic Development. “We were also happy to hear that there were many businesses still doing relatively well and in some cases growing during this difficult time.”

Of the 41 industrial businesses, 61% submitted that they were either "healthy and growing" or "remained the same". 75% of the 76 commercial businesses "remained the same" or are "healthy and growing".

Both categories of businesses were asked how many employees they have had to lay off, with 58% of industrial businesses stating that they have not had to make any layoffs, and 87% of commercial businesses saying the same.

"We were sort of pleased to hear that it's not as bad as we sometimes hear," said Rupert. "Yes there is a lot of businesses that are still struggling."

41% of industrial businesses have had to let go of a total of 483 workers.