Manitoba small business optimism improves in January; above national average

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Monthly Business Barometer

Manitoba Summary

Monthly Business Barometer

National Summary

Of further interest:

Consistently identified as a good perceptual indicator of the economy, January's Business Barometer^® results for Manitoba reveal small business optimism in Manitoba increased by 4 points in January to 68.8 from an index of 64.8 in December, and is above the national index of 65.2.

Manitoba highlights: 

• 49 per cent of Manitoba small business owners rated their overall state of business as good (42 per cent nationally);
• Main operating challenge cited was the shortage of skilled labour (54 per cent);
• Wages (56 per cent), taxes and regulations (53 per cent), and fuel and energy (53 per cent) remain the top cost pressures for small businesses;
• 24 per cent of Manitoba businesses plan to increase full-time employment in the next 3-4 months (16 per cent nationally) and only 10 per cent plan to decrease (12 per cent nationally).