Business Confidence: A November to Remember?
The fine folks at CFIB (the Canadian Federation of Independent Business) have released their "business barometer" readings for small businesses across Canada for the month of November. These statistics are used to get a sense of the confidence of small business owners from province to province. On a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance.
A Boost in BC
November's results put Merchant Advance Capital's home province of British Columbia ahead of the pack when it comes to small business confidence: heading into the holiday season, BC's index climbed to 73.9 - an increase of two points. CFIB's report states:
"...entrepreneurs in the province are now the most optimistic in the country about the future of the economy and the performance of their business, edging out Alberta by 0.3 points. When entrepreneurs were asked about their view of the general state of business in the province, 47 per cent characterized it as ‘good’..."Ontarian Confidence Influences National Change
Confidence figures in Ontario slipped by six points over the past month when compared to similar metrics taken at the end of October. This change contributed to an overall national decline on the index - however, as CFIB's full report points out, November has been the third highest-scoring month for small business confidence in the whole of 2014. As the holiday season approaches, businesses are preparing for what could be a crucial month ahead.
The complete report, viewable at this link and containing data sorted both by province and by industry, provides great insights for any small business owner looking to obtain a better sense of the economic trends influencing the business marketplace in Canada.
