Small business confidence in British Columbia increased slightly in April, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business announced April 24.
The CFIB Business Barometer Index increased half a point to 71.9 in the province – the second-highest level in the country after Saskatchewan (73.0) and more than six points higher than the national average of 65.7.
The monthly survey found that 26% of B.C. business owners plan to add staff in the next few months, while only 4% say they expect to let employees go.
“B.C.’s small business optimism has held for several months in a row, and this stability suggests that confidence in our provincial economy has taken root,” said Kimball Kastelen, CFIB’s B.C. policy analyst. “We are in a much better place than where we were a year ago.
“That said, B.C. small businesses will be facing new challenges, such as MMBC recycling costs, and we will be watching closely to evaluate their impact.”
Canada’s overall index is up half a point from March, which the CFIB said brings it to the highest level since last November.
“Optimism seems to be, on the whole, on an upward trend despite last month’s slight dip,” said Ted Mallett, CFIB’s vice-president and chief economist.
Optimism was up in six out of 10 provinces.
The index measures sentiments among small business owners about how their companies are likely to perform in the next year. An index level over 50 means the owners expect conditions to improve over the next year.
