by Morinville News Staff
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ latest monthly Business Barometer shows Alberta’s small business confidence index dropped 8.9 index points in November to an index of 44.7.
This significant decline drops Alberta to the second-lowest in the country and puts the province well behind the national indicator of 56.1 points. A score of 65 to 75 is what CFIB considers as a strong economy.
“The significant drop in November indicates small businesses are not optimistic about the economy and have uncertainty regarding economic policies such as natural resource market access and trade relations,” said Alberta Provincial Affairs Director Annie Dormuth.
The Alberta provincial government released its first budget last month. CFIB survey data shows 66 per cent of Alberta business owners believe the budget will improve Alberta’s economy.
Small business owners’ intentions to hire over the next three months dropped further in November. Ten per cent of business owners said they plan to increase their full-time employment (up one percentage points from October); however, 31 per cent anticipate a decrease (up 10 percentage points from October).
The provincial numbers for November were: PEI (75.0), New Brunswick (70.2), Quebec (67.4), Nova Scotia (62.7), Manitoba (59.8), Ontario (58.3), Newfoundland & Labrador (54.8), British Columbia (52.3), Alberta (44.7) and Saskatchewan (44.1).