Small business confidence falls again in August

Confidence among Canada’s small to medium-sized business owners is sliding, according to a new survey released Wednesday.

Optimism fell for the third straight month in August, largely as a result of uncertain market conditions, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found.

The CFIB’s Business Barometer index fell to 64.9 last month, down from 65.7 in July and well below the March peak of 69.9. An index reading higher than 50 means owners who expect their businesses' performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance.

"The current Barometer reading suggests the economy is only growing at a modest 2%," CFIB vice-president and chief economist Ted Mallett said in a release.

Business optimism fell in seven out of 10 provinces, with Western Canada seeing the most significant drops. Quebec and Ontario bucked recent downward trends and posted slight improvements in overall sentiment.

Confidence declined in eight of 13 industries, including bellwether sectors such as construction, manufacturing, wholesaling and financial services.

A separate study released one day earlier suggests business owners, despite being cautious, are planning to continue hiring in the coming quarter, with the manufacturing sector likely to add jobs at the fastest pace in a decade.

The CFIB’s findings are based on 919 responses, collected from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 3.2 per cent 19 times in 20.