Jersey Business Sentiment In The Doldrums

Thursday, April 12, 2012

The prevailing sentiment among Jersey business is the most negative since records began in 2009, with business activity said to have fallen significantly in the first quarter of 2012.

25% more businesses operating in Jersey reported a decline in business activity against the final quarter of 2011, while half of all businesses reported 'no change'. The Indicator is at its most negative level since the survey was introduced in September 2009.

Over all sectors of the economy, all indicators were negative, although eight of the ten were at essentially the same level as in the previous quarter; Profitability, Input Costs and Business Optimism remained the most strongly negative.

For the finance sector:

• Seven of the ten indicators were at levels similar to those of the previous quarter;
• Profitability remained negative, having been positive in the first six months of 2011;
• The Employment and Future Employment indicators were both negative;
• Business Optimism however saw considerable improvement, from having been strongly negative in the latter half of 2011 to become only marginally negative in the latest quarter.

For the non-finance sectors, overall, all ten indicators were negative; Business Activity and New Business were at their most negative levels to date.