States employment falls in latest figures

Friday 28 April 2017

New official figures show that total employment in Jersey increased to 58,860, a rise of 740 in total, which was the result of an increase of 1,010 employees in the private sector and a decrease of 270 employees in the public sector.

The private sector accounted for nearly 87% of total employment at 50,870 people whilst the public sector employed 7,690.

Infographic provided by the States Statistic Unit

December 2016’  figures released in the Labour Market Report show employment is up 1.3% on 2015 figures with the rise being credited to the private sector boost up to 50,870 employees, an increase of 1,010 from December 2015.

Table 1 shows private sector, public sector and total employment as recorded under the CHWL since December 2013 | States Statistic Unit

Private Sector Breakdown:

All sectors, except for wholesale and retail, saw an increase in employment on an annual basis in December 2016.

Considerable annual increases were seen in the hospitality sector, the construction industry as well as the private education, health and other services sector.

Table 8 shows the sectoral breakdown of private sector employment in December 2015 and December 2016 and the corresponding annual changes | States Statistic Unit

The construction industry continued their positive trend and again saw an increase, this time reaching their highest December employment figure to date with a total of 5,600 employees, up 270 from last year. 

A rise was also seen in the number of employees in the hotels, restaurants and bars industry which recorded an increase of 60 employees on an annual basis driven by an increase in full-time staff- up by 50 when compared to December 2015. 

Finance sector focus:

Whilst the finance sector did not see as large an increase as other industries, the sector did report a rise of 10 on an annual basis totalling over 13,000 employees- a figure which accounted for almost a quarter (22%) of total employment.  

Table 9 shows the levels of employment since December 2012 in the various sub-sectors comprising Jersey’s finance sector. | States Statistic Unit

The accountancy and fund management sub-sectors recorded increased employment over the latest twelve-month period, up by 80 and 40, respectively.

The increase in employment figures for accountancy and funds mirrors the statements made by Mike Byrne, Chair of the JFA, that promised a bright future for the Jersey funds industry. 

Movement of some companies previously included in the legal and banking sub-sectors contributed to the substantial increase seen in the trust & company administration sub-sector which recorded an annual increase in employment of 540. 

Whilst company movement boosted the trust and company administration sub-sector, it the driving force behind the decreased banking and legal sub-sectors which recorded falls of 390 and 270 employees, respectively, on an annual basis in December 2016. 

 The full labour market report published by the States of Jersey Statistics Unit can be found here.