Business confidence in British Columbia grew in November to its highest level since mid-2011, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) announced November 28.
B.C.’s confidence grew by 1.6 points to 72.3 in November – bringing it well above the Canadian average of 65.9 – according to the CFIB’s monthly Business Barometer index. This gives the province the second-highest confidence in the country after Newfoundland and Labrador (74.7).
The study found that 21% of businesses in B.C. are planning to hire staff, while 7% are expecting to shed staff in the next few months. The biggest cost complaint was tax and regulatory costs (62%).
Small business owners in B.C. cite limitations to growth on sales or production, which include:
- insufficient domestic demand (42%);
- shortage of skilled labour (35%);
- management skills and time constraints (28%); and
- shortage of working capital (22%).
Confidence grew across Canada, gaining 0.9 points from 65.0 in October, bringing November’s index to the highest level since the beginning of the year. The study showed that 18% of businesses nationwide expect to hire employees in the next few months, while 14% feel they will need to reduce their staff levels.
The lowest levels of optimism were found in Prince Edward Island (54.9), Quebec (55.5) and New Brunswick (55.9).
