15 April 2021
Statistics Jersey have today published the latest results from the Business Tendency Survey (BTS). 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.
Business activity indicator
- the headline all-sector business activity indicator was moderately negative, at -21 percentage points (pp); this means the proportion of businesses that reported a decrease was 21 pp higher than those that reported an increase
- the business activity indicator was moderately negative for the finance sector (-12 pp) and was strongly negative for the non-finance sector (-25 pp)
- the business activity indicator for finance was significantly lower than in December, and there was essentially no change for the all sector and non-finance indicators
Current indicators
- four of the eight current indicators were significantly negative, and none were significantly positive
- the overall picture was slightly more positive than last quarter; two current indicators increased significantly and one indicator (input costs) decreased significantly
Current situation: COVID-19
- the turnover indicator was moderately negative at -21 pp
- the actively working indicator was moderately negative at -13 pp
- in the last three months, 60% of businesses had taken some additional workforce measures in response to COVID-19
Outlook for next quarter – the three months to June 2021
- the outlook for future business activity was moderately positive (+20 pp) overall
- the indicator balance was essentially the same for finance (+19 pp) and non finance (+20 pp)
- the overall future employment outlook was moderately positive (+23 pp)
- the indicator was strongly positive (+34 pp) for finance and moderately positive for non finance (+18 pp)