Entrepreneurs in BC most positive in the country
Business Barometer®
Small business confidence at 70.4 in BC, almost 9 pts higher than national index
BC – The results of the latest monthly Business Barometer survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) show British Columbia’s small businesses once again lead the country in optimism, with its Barometer index climbing back above 70 in March. As a result, entrepreneurs in the province are now the most optimistic in the country about the future of the economy and the performance of their business.
To view the full report, please visit http://cfib.ca/barometer
“Overall, small business confidence levels in B.C. continue to remain steady and that’s obviously really good news. Last month was the first dip below 70 points since late 2013. But entrepreneurs still face some major challenges, such as tax and regulatory cost, and finding enough skilled workers”, states CFIB Vice President for BC and Alberta, Richard Truscott.
When entrepreneurs were asked about their view of the general state of their business,it remained unchanged from February with 47 per cent of owners who said it was good versus only 7 per cent who said bad.
In terms of their biggest challenge, insufficient domestic demand is still number one on the list, identified by 35 per cent of entrepreneurs in March. Next on the list was shortage of skilled labour, increasing four points in March to 33 per cent, followed by management skills and time constraints.
Hiring plans have improved a bit in March, with 29 per cent of business owners planning to add full-time staff in the next few months, compared to only 6 per cent expecting to cut back.
Nationally, the Business Barometer index rose by a point and a half to 61.5. The other provincial indices were: PEI (69.4), Ontario (65.5), Nova Scotia (65.2), New Brunswick (61.8), Quebec (59.4), Newfoundland & Lab (56.7), Manitoba (54.6), Saskatchewan (52.7), and Alberta (48.1).
About the Business Barometer:
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 March 2015 findings are based on 929 responses, collected from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 3.2 per cent 19 times in 20.
The Business Barometer is a monthly publication of CFIB and is a registered trademark.
Source: Business Examiner