Employment numbers hit record high

Thursday 08 November 2018

Employment numbers hit an all-time high in June with 61,930 jobs filled, with 54,220 belonging to the private sector, the highest figure recorded to date, according to the latest labour market report from Statistics Jersey.

The increase in private sector employment was predominantly due to an increase in the number of full-time employees, up by 530.

Pictured: Total employment increased by 0.5% between June 2017 and 2018.

320 additional jobs were recorded since June 2017, while there were 450 more jobs in the private sector, the public sector lost 140. The latter was driven by the decrease in States' staff on zero-hours contracts, which went down by 110, and employment by the parishes, down 60.

Private education, health and other services saw the greater change with employment up by 400, including 220 full-time positions.

Wholesale and retail lost 80 part-time positions leading their overall employment to decrease by 70.

The sector with the biggest increase in employment was private education, health and other services, up 400 jobs. https://t.co/eK9Vjxap8G pic.twitter.com/wGUzCMb1JY

— Statistics Jersey (@JsyStats) November 7, 2018

The finance sector accounted for 25% of the total private sector employment in Jersey. 

Employment in finance also increased. Total employment was down 30 from December 2017, when it hit a nine-year high, but there were 60 more jobs in trust and company administration, bringing this sub-sector to its highest level to date. The legal sub-sector also saw increased employment, up by 40.

Construction and quarrying also gained 50 full-time jobs. 

Three quarters of the jobs were full-time positions. Zero-hour contracts represented 11% of the total number of jobs, with 6,550 jobs across the public and private sector.

A large majority of the jobs, 86%, were filled by employees with Entitled or Entitled to work status. The public sector had a greater proportion of Entitled, Entitled to work and Licensed employees than the private sector and a lower proportion of registered employees.

 Pictured: Jamie Guyer, Managing Director of Optimus Recruitment.

Optimus Recruitment, which specialises in recruitment for the finance industry, welcomed the positive results. Jamie Guyer, the company's Managing Director, said: “These are encouraging figures for our economy and for those considering a career in the finance or corporate sectors as it shows that these are continued strong areas of growth and opportunity. Whilst employment has increased across the board, there are still plenty of available roles in various sectors of the industry, with firms on the lookout for talented individuals to join their rapidly expanding teams.

“Total employment within the finance sector was up by 50 on an annual basis, but these figures don’t reflect that there is still a skills shortage which needs to be addressed by recruiting new graduates and by ensuring that existing employees continue to learn and upskill.”