Small and mid-sized business owners in B.C. are feeling a mite more confident these days, according to numbers released Wednesday from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
In October, the B.C. business barometer gained 6.4 points to top out at 70 as more than half of small and mid-sized business owners rate the overall state of business as “satisfactory.”
“B.C. also shows some improvement in employment plans for the next few months,” the CFIB said. “This month, 9% of business owners plan to increase full-time employment and 17% plan to increase part-time employment.”
But the federation also said 73% plan no change to full-time levels of employment and 66% plan no change to part-time levels, adding that employment plans remain low despite recessionary conditions.
The October findings were based on 835 responses collected from a random selection of CFIB members.
The federation also said B.C.’s business barometer is now the second highest in the country behind Alberta, and above the national average of 66.9.
Yet 51% of small and mid-sized business owners said insufficient demand remains their biggest constraint, while 65% said taxes and regulatory costs are their biggest concerns.