The latest Business Barometer® published by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shows that small business confidence in Alberta went up when looking out a year, but went down when considering the next three months.

The long-term optimism index* is based on how businesses expect to be performing in 12 months while the short-term optimism index is based on a 3-month outlook.*

The long-term index for Alberta went from 56.5 in June to 58.8 in July, the highest reading since July 2022. The long-term index started the year at 51.3.

The short-term index went in the other direction, falling from 54.9 in June to 52.5 in July. This was, however, still well above the 43.4 reading in January.

Nationally, the long-term index was basically unchanged at 54.2 in July versus 54.0 in June.

It was the same story for the national short-term index which came in at 49.0 in July compared to 49.1 the month before.

A shortage of labour continued to top the list of factors causing problems for small businesses in Canada.

*Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’s performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. An index level near 65 normally indicates that the economy is growing at its potential.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The Public Service Alliance of Canada represents nearly 230,000 workers.

Today’s trivia question: How many food services and drinking places (i.e. restaurants, bars and caterers) are there in Alberta?