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Alberta small business confidence continued its free fall in February, dropping well below the worst level of the 2008 recession, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Its monthly members’ outlook, released Thursday, shows a decline of 2.1 points, to 26.7, with more than one-third of respondents stating they expect to reduce staff. It’s the fifth time in six months the CFIB index — which measures business owners’ views of the economy — reached a new low.

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Amber Ruddy, the CFIB’s director of provincial affairs for Alberta, said the index is now 10 points below the worst point of 2008 and about 40 points below the level associated with a healthy economy. A year ago, the index was 48.2.

“We had some of the highest highs and now we’re experiencing the lowest of lows,” Ruddy said in an interview. “Alberta is used to this boom-and-bust cycle and we’re really hoping we’re now coming around the bend to get back up to the boom side, but unfortunately we don’t see any sign of that in the near future.”

Hiring intentions were unchanged, with 35 per cent of respondents saying they will reduce their full-time workforce. Ten per cent expected to add employees, up one point from January.

Sixty-eight per cent of Alberta small business owners cited tax and regulatory costs as their biggest cost constraint, up two points from January. Wage pressures were cited as a concern by 59 per cent of respondents.