Jersey hits a record number of jobs

Wednesday 14 October 2015

The number of people employed in Jersey hit an all-time high at the end of June.

More than 650 jobs were created in the last 12 months – led by growth in finance and construction.

But within the finance sector the trends away from the once-dominant banking sector are continuing – 90 banking jobs disappeared, while 140 were created in trust and funds and a further 100 in the legal sector.

Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham has welcomed the figures, saying in particular that the additional 300 jobs created in the construction sector in the last year show confidence in the Island's economy.

He said: "This is good news.

"It is clear that there is strength-in-depth in our financial services sector, because although there is extensive restructuring in the banking sector, the strength of the other sectors has led to overall growth.

"And the news about the growth in construction jobs is very welcome. The construction industry tends to be a good barometer of the economy anyway, so that's encouraging and really underpins the economic growth that we have seen in the last 18 months and that we expect to continue in the years ahead."

The figures out in this morning’s Labour Market Report also show that the number of staff in the public sector dropped by about 30 in the last 12 months.

Those figures are made more complicated by the way that Andium Homes and Visit Jersey staff are no longer counted as “public sector” – but allowing for the changes, the difference works out as far lower than the statistics initially suggest.

The total breakdown of employment by sector was as follows: