NL small business optimism increases, but is lowest in the country
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Newfoundland Business Barometer
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its April 2012 Business Barometer®, indicating that the level of business optimism in Newfoundland and Labrador increased nearly four points, however, dropped to lowest in the country. The provincial index sits at 61.9, rising 3.6 points over last month’s index of 58.3.
Nationally, small business confidence dipped slightly in April with its index sitting at to 66.4; a 1.3 point drop from last month.
The following are some provincial findings of note:
- 41 per cent of business owners in the province say the current state of business is good, 50 per cent of them say it is satisfactory, and 9 per cent say it is bad;
- Shortage of skilled labour is the main operating challenge facing business owners;
- More respondents (16 per cent) expect full-time employment plans to decrease than increase (15 percent); 69 per cent expect employment plans to remain the same, and
- Fuel and energy are the main cost pressures in Newfoundland and Labrador, with 63 per cent of business owners saying these costs are causing difficulties for their business.
A one-page summary of findings for Newfoundland and Labrador is attached.
Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index level above 50 means owners expecting their businesses' performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. According to past results, index levels normally range between 65 and 75 when the economy is growing. The national a findings are based on 807 responses, collected from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 3.4 per cent 19 times in 20. Findings are expressed as a rolling average from the last four months in Newfoundland and Labrador.
