Recently, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its latest monthly Business Barometer®, which reveals optimism among small business owners in Saskatchewan declined again to an index of 52.7 in November, from 58.3 in October, well below the national average index of 58.7.
“Saskatchewan’s index dropped more than 5 points in November, its third consecutive decline, to reach 52.7. Employment plans are also at the lowest level since 2009 with 19 per cent of employers expecting to cut back on full-time staff. Only 11 per cent of employers are planning to increase full-time staff,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s Vice-President, Prairie and Agri-Business. “It is clear the effects of declining commodity prices continue to impact small business optimism levels. We also fear many municipalities will only make matters worse with proposing to hike property taxes in 2016. Instead of hiking taxes, we need municipal leaders to control spending and address inequities in their municipal property tax system.”
“National small business optimism remained muted in November and showed little change from the previous month,” said CFIB chief economist Ted Mallett. “The latest national index was 58.7--only 0.2 points from October’s 58.9, but below sentiment recorded in the first half of the year.”
Optimism trended upward for the second month in a row in British Columbia, increasing a point to 66.6. Alberta made a one point improvement to 37.4, but still sits last in the country by a significant margin. Saskatchewan’s confidence fell six points to 52.7. Manitoba jumped to 68.0. Ontario picked up half a point to move to 63.0, while Quebec dipped to 56.5, remaining just below the national average. Newfoundland and Labrador’s business confidence dropped more than five points to 59.8. Nova Scotia’s confidence slipped to 67.6, but still second-highest in the country. New Brunswick’s confidence made a small jump to 60.5. Prince Edward Island rose four points to 63.2. Results and the full report are available at: www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/barometer
Highlights of the Saskatchewan Business Barometer for November:
· 43 per cent of businesses in Saskatchewan say their overall state of business is good (43 per cent nationally), 13 per cent say it is bad (13 per cent nationally).
· 11 per cent of Saskatchewan businesses plan to increase full-time employment in the next 3-4 months (18 per cent nationally) and 19 per cent plan to decrease employment (15 per cent nationally).
· Insufficient domestic demand remains the main operating challenge (38 per cent); followed by the shortage of skilled labour (26 per cent).
· Major cost pressures for small business include: tax, regulatory costs (56 per cent), fuel, energy costs (49 per cent), and wage costs (48 per cent).
