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

Chief executives and managing directors are asked for their opinions on the current situation of their business compared to three months earlier and their expectations for the next three months.

In June 2017:

• the headline all-sector business activity indicator was +25 percentage points (pp); this means the proportion of businesses reporting an increase was 25 pp greater than those reporting a decrease
• the business activity indicator was slightly higher than three months ago, when it was +18 pp
• six out of the eight current indicators were positive; only profitability and input costs were negative
• the product prices and business optimism indicators were both positive and improved from last quarter
• the only indicator to change by more than 10 pp was the profitability indicator, which increased by 14 pp to a neutral -2 pp; three-fifths (61%) of companies reported no change in profits, with the remaining two-fifths split between increases (18%) and decreases (21%)
• the profitability indicator was positive for the finance sector and for wholesale and retail, while it was negative for other sectors
• the majority of companies reported higher input costs (producing a strongly negative indicator), particularly in the non-finance sector, where over two-thirds (68%) of businesses saw higher costs – slightly higher than last quarter (64%)
• the last time such a large proportion of companies reported increased input costs was in 2011
• the finance sector was more positive than the non-finance sector; five of the eight indicators relating to the current situation were more positive for the finance sector, three of them by over 20 pp

Future outlook (next 3 months):

• the outlook for future business activity was strongly positive, with the finance sector being more positive than other sectors
• the outlook for future employment was positive, although a majority of companies expected no change