According to the latest Business Barometer® report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the long-term small business optimism index for Alberta increased 3.9 points to 57.3 in June.*

The long-term index hasn’t been this high since August of last year.

The short-term index, which asks small business owners about how they expect their business to perform over the next three or four months, ticked up from 50.0 in June to 51.7 in July.

Both indexes were above the average set over the previous 12 months.

Insufficient demand (mentioned by 52% of respondents) and a shortage of skilled labour (cited by 37% of respondents) were the top two limitations on business growth identified by Alberta small business owners in July.

Small business sentiment weakened nationally, with the long-term index edging down from 56.0 in June to 55.4 in July and the short-term reading falling 4.1 points to 47.0.

The CFIB notes that the pullback in the long-term index was “driven mostly by Ontario’s decline of 3.8 points” with most provinces posting higher readings in July.

There are many factors in play, but the second interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada that occurred after the CFIB’s July survey and the economic boost future cuts provide should buoy business confidence going forward.

*The data reflect responses received from July 3 to 15. Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’s performance to be stronger outnumber those expecting weaker performance. An index level near 65 normally indicates that the economy is growing at its potential. 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 how businesses expect to be performing in 3 months.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Including the current event, Paris has hosted the Summer Olympics three times.

Today’s trivia question: When was the first Olympics held in Canada?