P.E.I. business confidence leads country in poll

P.E.I. businesses are the most confident in Canada, according to a survey done earlier this month by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"P.E.I. has been doing quite well. We've been tracking above the national average certainly but right now it's sitting at the top of the country at 70.5," said Jordi Morgan, vice-president Atlantic of CFIB.

The national barometer reading, which is measured on a scale of 0 to 100, was 59.8. Any score over 50 means business owners expect business to improve.

The CFIB looks at things like full-time staffing intentions and the general state of business health in its survey.

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The survey found 23 per cent of Island firms plan to hire full time staff over the next three months, and only five per cent are looking to downsize.

The results are based on 603 responses collected in the first two weeks of August from a random sample of CFIB members.

The findings are considered accurate to within plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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