19 October 2022
Statistics Jersey have today published the results of the September 2022 Business Tendency Survey.
This quarterly survey 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 positive, at +10 percentage points (pp); this means the proportion of businesses that reported an increase was 10 pp higher than those that reported a decrease
- the business activity indicator was moderately positive for the finance sector (+16 pp) and neutral for the non-finance sector (+7 pp)
Current indicators
- one of the eight current indicators was extremely negative (input costs) and two indicators were moderately negative (profitability and business optimism), while one was strongly positive (product prices) and two were moderately positive (business activity and employment)
- the overall picture was more negative than last quarter; two current indicators decreased (business optimism and business activity)
Current situation: COVID-19
- the turnover indicator was moderately positive at +13 pp, which is essentially unchanged from the previous quarter
- the actively working indicator was neutral at +3 pp, which is essentially unchanged from the previous quarter
- in the last three months, 38% of businesses had taken some additional workforce measures in response to COVID-19, with the most cited measures in this quarter being recruited staff and increased working hours
Outlook for next quarter – the three months to December 2022
- the outlook for future business activity was moderately positive (+10 pp)
- the indicator balance was strongly positive for finance (+44 pp) and neutral for non finance ( 5 pp)
- the overall future employment outlook was moderately positive (+22 pp)
- the indicator was strongly positive for finance (+43 pp) and moderately positive for non finance (+13 pp)