According to the latest monthly Business Barometer survey results from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), British Columbia’s small business confidence index was up one point in October to 71.9.
That means entrepreneurs in B.C. are now the second most optimistic in the country, 2.7 points behind Alberta.
To view the full reports visit http://cfib.ca/barometer.
“We continue to see a positive trend regarding small business confidence in B.C. Entrepreneurs remain optimistic about the future of the economy, and the expected performance of their businesses. Obviously, that’s good news for B.C.,” said CFIB provincial director, Richard Truscott.
There were several other positive indicators for B.C. in the October Business Barometer results. When asked about their view of the general state of business in the province, 48 per cent of those surveyed describing it as ‘good’, the same level as September, while 11 per cent characterize it as ‘bad’, up three points from last month.
On hiring plans, 25 per cent of business owners in October said they are planning to add full-time staff in the next three months, up one point from the previous month. Only five per cent expect their workforce to shrink, same result as September.
The biggest challenge for small business in B.C. continues to be the shortage of skilled labour, with 38 per cent of business owners now saying it is limiting their sales or production growth, one point higher than September.
The national Business Barometer index was buoyed by stronger confidence levels in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C., rising 2.2 points in October to 67.8. The provincial indices were as follows: Alberta (74.6), British Columbia (71.9), Ontario (71.1), Newfoundland (68.5), Saskatchewan (68.1), Manitoba (64.2), Nova Scotia (61.8), New Brunswick (61.4), Quebec (58.4), and PEI (52.7).
Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index level above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. An index level of between 65 and 70 means the economy is growing at its potential. The October 2014 findings are based on 883 responses, collected from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 3.3 per cent 19 times in 20.
