Following a surge in the number of people out of work in April, the figure has dropped by 610 since the end of May and now stands at 1,680.
The numbers are, however, still higher than pre-lockdown levels and are comparable to 2014, when the Island was still emerging from the global recession.
The Jersey Chamber of Commerce has now urged the government to consider further targeted support for struggling businesses ahead of the gradual withdrawal of the co-funding payroll scheme.
Chamber president Jennifer Carnegie said that they were encouraged to see the number dropping month by month, but she sounded a note of caution. ‘With a limited amount of visitors and only a matter of weeks remaining of the summer season, these figures must be taken cautiously, particularly as government co-funding begins to taper off in quarter three and four and into 2021.
‘We encourage the government to consider targeted support for businesses who have not yet been able to open or are operating at limited capacity due to Covid-related restrictions,’ she said.
She added that the Chamber was hopeful that the £100 Spend Local Card for all Islanders would provide ‘a boost for businesses, jobs, the economy and the positive fighting spirit we enjoy in Jersey’.
Her comments on further government intervention echo those made recently by a former Chamber president, David Warr, who called for government to develop a more nuanced approach to supporting vulnerable sectors which might recover more slowly.
The latest economic indicators show a fall of 60 in the number actively seeking work over the previous week.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the 1,680 figure, which comprises 880 females and 800 males, was last reached in the first quarter of 2014.
Of the latest figure, 20% were previously employed in miscellaneous professional and domestic services; 16% in retail and wholesale, motor repairs and sales; 16% in banking, miscellaneous insurance, finance and business;15% in hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs; and 9% in construction and allied trades, mining and quarrying.
The figures also show that income support claims were slightly down over the previous week at 6,310 but 690 more than at the comparable point in 2019.
But there remains concern about the potential impact on these figures of the gradual withdrawal of the co-funded payroll scheme which had paid out more than £63.6m in 10,850 claims between April and July. The scheme will be phased out gradually between September and March next year.
There has been no increase in lending from the Business Disruption Loan Guarantee Scheme – which provides government backed lending to local businesses affected by Covid-19 – since the previous week. It has approved a total of 55 loans amounting to £3,098,700.
