THE government is spending more than £800,000 a year relocating workers to Jersey despite growing concerns over the number of young Islanders leaving permanently.
It means that relocation payments to government employees have more than doubled in three years, rising from £374,552 in 2022 to £814,079 in 2024 and £813,947 last year. A further £280,376 was paid during the first four months of 2026 alone.
The payments cover relocation costs processed through payroll or expense claims, while travel costs associated with moves totalled a further £15,000 in 2025.
Debate over the Island’s reliance on imported workers has intensified in recent years amid growing concerns over the so-called “bean drain”, with increasing numbers of young Islanders seeing few prospects if they remain in Jersey.
The latest Children and Young People’s Survey found that almost half of Year 10 and Year 12 students do not believe Jersey is the right place to build a life and career, while more than a third of sixth-form students planning to attend university expect to leave the Island permanently.
Statistics Jersey also recorded a 7% fall in the number of people in their 20s and 30s between 2017 and 2023, despite continuing skills shortages across parts of the economy.
And last year, proposals in the government’s Budget to double the tax-free relocation allowance for eligible recruits from £7,500 to £15,000 prompted criticism that ministers were making Jersey more attractive for workers arriving from elsewhere while doing little to encourage local young people to stay.
At the time, former Senator Ben Shenton argued the policy would accelerate the departure of young Islanders by offering cultural and marine sectors”.
Then-Treasury Minister Elaine Millar rejected that criticism, saying the government also invests heavily in apprenticeships, skills and home-ownership schemes, and that Jersey still needed to recruit specialist staff from outside the Island.
Under the government’s relocation policy, eligible recruits can receive a tailored package of support extending well beyond removal expenses.
The latest cost figures were revealed following a request made under the Freedom of Information Law.
Relocation packages can include orientation tours of the Island, assistance in finding rental accommodation, accompanied property viewings, help registering with Social Security and tax, opening bank accounts, arranging utilities, finding schools or nurseries for children, and full door-to-door household removals. The government pays approved relocation contractors directly for those services.
In his nomination speech, new Economic Development Minister Gerald Voisin told the States Assembly that the “high cost” of housing in Jersey was a “key economic issue” that needed to be resolved to keep young people in the Island.
“The high cost reduces labour mobility, hinders recruitment, pushes out our young local people, and discourages entrepreneurs,” he said.
18-year-old Deputy Gabriel Raimondo asked the new minister about job opportunities for young Islanders not returning after university because they struggle to find jobs in more niche sectors like tech, biotech and the creative arts.
Senator Voisin responded: “The creative skills that we have in Jersey, we need to bring them back.
“Highlands College has a tremendous facility for training and educating, and we need to give our Islanders the opportunity to come back to practice those skills in Jersey.”
