In early July, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business published the results of its quarterly survey on SME perspectives. In June, the business barometer index stood at 66.3.
This number was down from 66.9 in May and its April peak of 70.7, but in line with June 2010 levels. Although business confidence and three to four-month hiring forecasts dropped in June 2011, this is typical for this time of year.
The most upbeat were business owners in Alberta (76.2), followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (72.4), British Columbia (71), Manitoba (71) and Saskatchewan (69.2). Entrepreneurs in Ontario (65), Quebec (64.2), Nova Scotia (63.5), New Brunswick (62.7) and Prince Edward Island (57.1) were below the national average.
The barometer also records diversity by sector: in June 2011, manufacturing and retail both dropped two points vs. May, to 66.9 and 64.7 respectively. Construction was also down slightly (63.8). The least optimistic was the agricultural sector, with an index at 57.4.
The index is based on a scale of 0 to 100. An index level between 50 and 100 means that small business owners expecting their business’s performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. In periods of economic growth, index levels usually range between 65 and 75.