Another 2,000 new jobs created as economy bounces back

Thursday 16 April 2015

Almost 2,000 jobs have been created in Jersey in the last 12 months after the economy started to recover from the long recession.

There were 400 new jobs in finance and increases in construction and retail – but half of all of the new jobs created were under “zero hours” contracts that do not guarantee any work or pay.

There were also 120 new public sector jobs created in 2014, showing the scale of the challenge of filling a structural deficit in States finances believed to be £130 million. The size of the deficit will be confirmed next week at a major speech by the new Treasury Minister Alan Maclean – he is also expected to give an indication over the combination of major cuts and tax rises that will be needed over the next three years.

At the end of last year, the number of people employed in Jersey was higher than the end of any previous year at 48,970 – the biggest employer was finance (12,770 staff), followed by wholesale and retail (8,100), private sector education and health (6,780) and hotels, restaurants and bars (5,160).

But the States remain by far the biggest employer in Jersey, with headcount numbers continuing to rise. There were 7,130 people working for the States, States-owned companies and parishes at the end of the year.

Chief Minister Ian Gorst has welcomed the figures, which were contained in the December 2014 Labour Market Report, released this morning.

This morning he tweeted: “Latest figs show 3.5% increase in total employment – an indication that economy is on course to return to growth.”