ISLANDERS are working more but have less disposable income on average than in other nations – with Jersey’s housing costs ranking the second-worst out of 41 nations and jurisdictions, new figures show.
The Better Life Index, which was published by Statistics Jersey yesterday, found that average spending on housing in Jersey accounted for over a quarter of household income.
The index measures the wellbeing of people in countries and regions within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and showed that for Jersey residents this has decreased in the past three years – with the Island ranked 24th out of the 41 nations in the survey.
Jersey’s famous community spirit has been proven in the latest figures with the percentage of people who have someone they can rely on in case of need being 96% – higher than all OECD countries except for Iceland. Norway, Ireland, Finland and the Czech Republic were joint second alongside Jersey.
Within the report, wellbeing is measured across 11 factors including income, housing, civic engagement and life satisfaction.
The JEP approached the government for comment on the index but did not receive a response before going to print.
The index found that 26.8% of household disposable income in 2019 was spent on housing in Jersey. This was the second-worst out of all of the OECD countries, with only Slovakia having a higher percentage. The figure was 20% in 2009/10 and 26% in 2017.
The Island also ranked 21st out of 41 countries for the average amount of disposable income per person, and was below the OECD average. This was despite Jersey having high employment rates compared with other jurisdictions.
Carl Walker, head of the Jersey Consumer Council, said it was ‘no surprise that the amount of money in people’s pockets was decreasing’.
‘We are well aware that it is affecting all sectors of life and in particular it can be seen in the cost of accommodation. Islanders are continually having to pay a greater proportion of their income towards accommodation and this report has highlighted that,’ he said.
The average price of a UK property at the end of 2021 stood at £271,000 – around 2½ times lower than the Jersey average of £673,000 – while even the UK’s most expensive region, London, was more than £150,000 lower than the Island’s figure.
Mr Walker added that the increase in cost of living in other areas of life was also reducing Islanders’ disposable income.
‘Consumers are facing the perfect storm. They are still adapting to the impacts of Brexit at a time when the global economy is surging out of Covid. All the while, supply chains are being hit by the effects of oil and wheat as a result of the war in Ukraine. Life was already expensive in Jersey but this has compounded that,’ he said.
The index also showed that voter turnout in Jersey during the May 2018 States Assembly election was 43.4% – which was the lowest out of all the participating countries.
Kevin Keen, chairman of the Association of Jersey Charities, said the results of the index were ‘shocking’. However, he added that the release of the data had come at a ‘crucial time’ before the June election. ‘The index has always been a really important measure as it is complete and really tells us where we are as an island and from the results, it is not good news generally. We have the potential to be such a beautiful Island but we need to take a hard look at where we are, as the results show the wellbeing of Islanders has continually reduced,’ he said. ‘We are only going to slip further down the rankings each year if these areas are not addressed. We talk about having world-class hospitals and other facilities, but I think the government needs to take a more modest approach and focus on boosting these rankings first,’ he added
