Statistics Jersey have today published the results from the latest Business Tendency Survey. 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.
Summary for the Business Tendency Survey in December 2020
Business activity indicator
- the headline all-sector business activity indicator was moderately negative, at -15 percentage points (pp); this means the proportion of businesses that reported a decrease was 15 pp higher than those that reported an increase
- the business activity indicator was moderately positive for the finance sector (+17 pp) and was strongly negative for the non-finance sector (-28 pp)
- the business activity indicator for finance was significantly higher than in September, while it was significantly lower for non-finance, which together resulted in no significant change for the all sector indicator
Current indicators
- five of the eight current indicators were significantly negative, and none were significantly positive
- the overall picture was significantly more positive than last quarter; two current indicators increased significantly and there were no significant decreases
Current situation: COVID-19
- the turnover indicator was moderately negative at -20 pp
- the actively working indicator was moderately negative at -16 pp
- the most commonly cited workforce measure taken in response to COVID-19 over the last three months was no action
Outlook for next quarter – the three months to March 2021
- the outlook for future business activity was neutral (-2 pp) overall
- the indicator was strongly positive for finance (+34 pp) and moderately negative for non finance (-16 pp)
- the overall future employment outlook was neutral (+7 pp)
- the indicator was strongly positive (+31 pp) for finance and neutral for non finance (-3 pp)
Finance sector expectations for 2021
- the employment expectations indicator for 2021 was neutral (+5 pp)
- this indicator was 12 pp lower than in December 2019
- the profit expectations indicator for 2021 was moderately positive (+15 pp); 45% of finance companies anticipated an increase in profits in 2021, compared to 30% that anticipated a decrease
- the expected profits indicator was 33 pp lower than in December 2019