The latest Labour Market Survey shows that 61,660 jobs were filled as of June, a 2.2 per cent increase on the same time last year.
The figures, released by the States Statistics Unit, show that there were a total of 7,840 public sector jobs, equating to around 13 per cent of total employment. The sector saw no change in the number of jobs over the year.
The largest sector was finance and legal activities, which made up 22 per cent of jobs in the Island and recorded an increase of 250 jobs in the past year.
The increase in finance sector employment meant that the industry saw its highest job levels since December 2008. Despite this, the number of people in banking has dropped as other sections within the finance industry have grown.
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham said the survey results indicated that the economy was performing ‘slightly above expectations’.
He added that maintaining a strong economy before the main crux of Brexit negotiations was vitally important because of the uncertainty that might arise over the next two years.
He said: ‘The employment rate increase is slightly above Fiscal Policy Panel predictions, which is positive. It suggests our economy is slightly stronger than we thought it might be.
‘There was no growth in the public sector employment, which is in line with government policy on the restructuring of the private sector.
‘Most sectors saw growth and that was largely down to a rise in full-time employees, which is encouraging.
‘The economy remains strong in 2017 – 2018 and 2019 are uncertain times with Brexit negotiations ongoing. We are working hard to make sure we move forward with as strong an economy as we can.’
He added that an updated population policy would need to run in tandem with employment figures.
‘I think the important thing is, as the population has been growing, we need to make sure we have jobs and career opportunities for the population.
‘The last thing we want to see is an increase in unemployment,’ he said.
He added that it was important that investment in schemes to increase employment, such as the Back to Work initiative, continued as ‘we can’t take our foot off the pedal’.
The survey revealed that around 11 per cent of jobs were filled by people on zero-hour contracts.
Senator Farnham said that as long as such contracts were not being abused then they were useful for certain people.
‘I support moves to stamp out any abuse of these type of contracts, he said. ‘However, as part of the overall employment equation, they provide a valuable component and allow people flexibility to work on contracts that suit them.’
