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The quarterly Jersey Business Tendency Survey (BTS) provides qualitative information about the Island’s economy in a timely manner.

The survey covers private sector businesses in Jersey. The survey asks the chief executive or managing director of sampled businesses for their opinions on the current situation of their business compared to three months earlier and their expectations for the next three months.

In December 2016:

• the headline all-sector business activity indicator was +20 percentage points (pp); the proportion of businesses reporting an increase was therefore 20 pp greater than those reporting a decrease
• the all-sector business activity indicator improved compared to the previous round of the survey (March 2016), returning to a level similar to that of a year ago.
• six out of the eight current indicators were positive (only profitability and input costs were negative)
• the new business indicator was positive and the business optimism indicator was marginally positive
• the all-sector profitability indicator was negative, with around a quarter of companies reporting decreased profits and more than half reporting no change
• the profitability indicator was positive for the finance sector but negative for the non-finance sector
• the majority of companies reported increased input costs (producing a strongly negative indicator), particularly in the non-finance sector
• six out of the eight current indicators were essentially unchanged compared to the previous round of the survey in March 2016 (only business activity and input costs saw significant changes)

Future outlook (next 3 months):

• the finance sector was generally more positive than the non-finance sector, with six out of the eight indicators relating to the current situation being greater for the finance sector
• the outlook for future business activity was positive overall, being strongly positive for the finance sector and neutral for the non-finance sector
• the outlook for future employment was neutral (majority of companies expecting no change)
• the outlook for future profits in the finance sector was positive for both the short term (next 3 months) and long term (next 12 months)