Jersey Records Financial Sector Employment Growth

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

11 October 2011

Jersey Finance has welcomed the latest Jersey Labour Market report, published by the States of Jersey, and believes that it provides some reassurance as an indicator of growth within the finance industry and wider economic recovery.

The report, for the period January to June 2011 found that Jersey’s finance industry saw its first increase in employment for more than two years to now stand at 12,820.

The total level of employment in Jersey grew annually by 740 to 56,890, representing the highest level of employment for at least 15 years.

Geoff Cook, chief executive, Jersey Finance, commented:

“The increase in employees within the finance industry is pleasing news, providing signs of growth and marking something of a turning point, given that this is the first increase the industry has seen since 2008. It is particularly encouraging that, if we drill down, the banking sub-sector recorded employment growth of 70 in the first half of 2011, the first increase the sector has seen for three years. In addition, the administration and legal sub-sectors performed extremely well, contributing considerably to the annual increase in financial services employment.

“Whilst these are encouraging signs, Jersey must continue to focus on employment as a key issue. Figures are not back to the levels we were experiencing a few years ago and we know that employment in the finance industries in Guernsey and the UK have remained flat at best, a reminder of the need to be mindful of the wider economic picture.”

The statement from Jersey Finance comes shortly after Jersey's 2010 economic report, published on September 27, 2011, which showed that Jersey's economy, as measured by Gross Value Added (GVA), declined by 5% in 2010.

The finance sector, which contributes over 40% of value added to the economy, declined in 2010 by 11% and has contracted in terms of the value of goods and services it provides by over a quarter in the last three years from GVA of GBP1.808bn in 2008 to USD1.435bn in 2010, according to the report.

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