Small-business owners in Canada are increasingly confident and looking to hire.

A survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business released Wednesday says the confidence of Canadian small-business proprietors has risen for the third straight quarter and their hiring plans are the highest in three years.

The CFIB said its quarterly survey points to overall healthy growth for the economy, with job-creation intentions at the strongest level since early 2002.

The survey found 37% of owners of small and medium-sized enterprises said their firms are doing better than a year ago, while 26% reported doing worse.

Expectations were more positive, with 53% expecting to be making more money a year from now vs 12% forecasting a weakening.

The survey said 33% plan to increase full-time employment in the next year, while only 6% foresee job cuts.