Eighty-one percent of survey respondents said their business operations had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; 32 percent said they were worried about the businesses’ ability to stay healthy over the next 12 months.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced three million Canadians out of work, and dropped construction employment by 314,000 jobs.

Although permit values dropped by more than 13 percent in March, that figure was significantly lower than the more than 20 percent forecasted by Statistics Canada a month ago.

The City of Windsor reported a slight gain in construction activity as measured by the combined value of building permits issued in the city in April. One permit, worth $12.5 million, led the way.

The associations have praised the provincial government for allowing work on multi-unit residential construction works to restart during the COVID-19 pandemic.