Small businesses expect to increase prices by an average of 2.8% over the next 12 months, according to the latest Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) Business Barometer, which was released on Thursday.
That compares to average plans of 3.0% in December. For the first time since March 2021, this indicator has dropped below 3%, the upper band of the Bank of Canada’s range for inflation of 1% to 3%, said the organization.
RDNE Stock project
“The 12-month confidence index saw a small uptick to 49.0 in January but remained historically low. On the positive side, the share of businesses reporting labour shortage challenges is on a downward trend, and supply chain indicators have to a large extent normalized. However, the share of small businesses (48%) reporting challenges with borrowing costs is still elevated and double its historical average in January. About 48% of firms also report insufficient demand, which in this latter case is a three and half year high,” said the CFIB.
Recently the CFIB released its latest economic forecasts, showing the Canadian economy is expected to display sluggish growth in Q1 2024, after having been more or less stuck in neutral in Q4 2023.
“After everything small businesses have gone through in the past year, they are hopeful for much-needed relief. The early signs of improved expectations they have been displaying recently could be a response to the cooling labour market, softening inflationary pressures and widely expected interest rate cuts in 2024,” concluded Simon Gaudreault, CFIB’s chief economist and vice-president of research.
The January Business Barometer can be found here.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list
About Us
Canada’s Podcast is the number one podcast in Canada for entrepreneurs and business owners. Established in 2016, the podcast network has interviewed over 600 Canadian entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast.
With hosts in each province, entrepreneurs have a local and national format to tell their stories, talk about their journey and provide inspiration for anyone starting their entrepreneurial journey and well- established founders.
The commitment to a grass roots approach has built a loyal audience on all our social channels and YouTube – 500,000+ lifetime YouTube views, 200,000 + audio downloads, 35,000 + average monthly social impressions, 10,000 + engaged social followers and 35,000 newsletter subscribers. Canada’s Podcast is proud to provide a local, national and international presence for Canadian entrepreneurs to build their brand and tell their story.
