JERSEY’S economy is performing better now than it was before the pandemic, new data has revealed, with growth being primarily driven by the finance sector.
A recent report published by Statistics Jersey, which measured the performance of the local economy in 2023, revealed that the Island’s Gross Domestic Product was £6.58 billion.
This marks a 14.8% rise compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
GDP measures the total value of all goods and services produced during a year. It helps assess the overall size and health of Jersey’s economy over time by showing how much money the entire Island is generating.
In 2023, Jersey’s GDP grew by 7.3% compared to the previous year and reached £6.575 million.
The 7% rise was significantly higher than the average annual growth of 1.6% seen over the previous decade.
GDP per capita measures how much economic output is produced per person, which provides an insight into the average standard of living.
In 2023, Jersey’s GDP per person rose by 7% to £63,500, an increase of £4,100 from the previous year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main driver of the Island’s economic growth was the strong performance of the financial and insurance sectors. This was largely due to higher profits from the banking sector, driven by higher net interest income, a measure of the difference between what banks earn from loans and pay on deposits.
The financial sector made up nearly half (46%) of Jersey’s economy and accounts for more than half of all private sector output, according to the figures. Labour productivity in this sector, the amount produced per worker, rose by nearly 20% in 2023.
Outside the finance sector, however, productivity rose by 1.8%.
Not all sectors of Jersey’s economy performed as well as finance. Some industries experienced growth, while others struggled.
Human health and social work activities was up 16.3% in real terms, driven by increased employment expenditure in the sector, and transport and storage (up 12.3%) continued its recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several sectors recorded real-terms decreases, notably agriculture, forestry and fishing (down 9.3%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (down 10.9%). The largest decrease was recorded in the real estate activities sector (down 11.5%).
