June 3, 2009, Toronto – There are growing signs that
Canada's economy is turning the corner towards recovery.
Confidence among small and mid-sized business owners
continued to improve through May. The Canadian Federation of Independent
Business (CFIB's) new Monthly Business Barometer Index rose to 60.4 last month,
from 54.9 in April, and a cyclical low of 39.4 in December 2008.
"At this point, improvements identified by the data are
limited to the more subjective measures of forward-looking expectations,"
cautioned Ted Mallett, CFIB's vice-president of research and chief economist.
"Despite the improvement, the index remains well below historical norms
and suggests that GDP growth has not yet entered positive territory.
Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index level above
50 means owners expecting their business' performance to be stronger in the
next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. Data were collected
quarterly from 2000 to mid-2008. Beginning September 2008, the data are now
collected monthly. Going forward, the Business Barometer will be released on a
monthly basis. To view the Business Barometer Index and GDP chart click here.
The May 2009 findings are based on 835 responses, collected
from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web
survey, May 2 to 27. Data are statistically accurate to +/- 3.4 per cent 19
times in 20.
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