Confidence levels among Alberta small businesses slipped in January, according to a new poll by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The monthly Business Barometer index by the organization, released Wednesday, said confidence has dipped 5.6 points over the past two months, erasing more than half the gains made during a 9.5-point jump late in 2010 that drove the index to the highest level in Alberta since 2007.
In January, the CFIB index fell by 1.2 points.
Across Canada, small business confidence levels in January remained relatively steady at 68.9, just slightly below the numbers in Alberta (69.5). Small business owners in Alberta are now the sixth most optimistic in the country about the performance of their businesses. Manitoba (72.0) now leads the way, followed by Saskatchewan (71.7), and Newfoundland and Labrador/British Columbia (tied at 71.1), and Quebec (69.6). Entrepreneurs were least confident in New Brunswick (62.1), Nova Scotia (66.4), and Ontario (67.8).
The Business Barometer is measured on a scale between 0 and 100 and an index level above 50 means owners expecting their businesses' performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance.
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