After some difficult years early in this millennium, Jersey's economy is once again growing strongly as States' initiatives promote business development and plan for future ups and downs in all sectors of the island's economy, says its Economic Development Minister.
Sen. Ozouf is Jersey's Minister for Economic Development. He has been a Member of the States since 1999 when he was elected as a Deputy for the parish of St Helier. He was elected as a Senator in 2002.
T
he economy of Jersey is currently experiencing exceptional growth, with progress shared across almost
every sector and not just confined to the vibrant financial services sector. Recent States of Jersey investment in
its Economic Growth Plan is already producing results with an increase of more than six per cent in both the tourism and construction sectors in 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available. A re-focusing of States business
support and closer engagement with island producers even resulted in a three- per-cent real-terms growth in agriculture, the first positive growth for over six years.
1Jersey has experienced strong
economic growth - gross value added growth of 6.6 per cent in 2006 and
Jersey continues to remain one of the most productive economies in the world. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Jersey's rate of economic growth was well above that of most of its industrialized competitors, fuelled by a successful financial services industry now accounting for half of all economic activity in Jersey, employing nearly a quarter of the island's workforce and eliciting an indirect contribution from businesses closely tied to the sector. As Figure 1 shows, income per head
Sen. Philip F.C. Ozouf.
maintained this momentum into 2007, 2. Inflation has remained below the
States target of 2.5 per cent, 3. Strong growth in employment - up 3
per cent in the year to June 2007, 4. Success of the economy reflected
in very high gross national income per capita, 5. The economy is well prepared to meet future challenges
in Jersey is double that of the average of the Euro-zone countries and more than six times the global average. Living standards in Jersey are high and economic prosperity has provided a high standard of public services for Island residents. Since the last visit of the CPA
Executive Committee in 2000, however, a lot has happened in Jersey's economy.
A full economic cycle In terms of its level of overall economic activity as measured by gross value added (GVA), Jersey saw a period of real economic decline of two to three per cent for a few years after the turn of the millennium. This was brought about by