Jessica O'ConnorThe total number of jobs in Jersey during December 2024 stood at 64,790, according to the latest labour market report from Statistics Jersey.
Of these, 54,910 were in the private sector and 9,880 in the public sector.
This represents the highest recorded number of jobs for any December period to date.
Compared to December 2023, the total number of jobs increased by 530, or 0.8%.
This growth was primarily driven by the public sector, which saw an increase of 430 jobs, representing a 4.6% rise.
Within the public sector, there was a notable rise in the number of Government of Jersey (GOJ) core jobs, with an increase of 410 permanent and fixed-term employees.
The departments with the largest growth were Health and Care Jersey, which added 190 jobs, and Children, Young People, Education and Skills, which saw an increase of 170 positions.
The private sector experienced a smaller annual increase of 100 jobs, or 0.2%.
At the sector level, four areas showed notable growth. Financial and legal activities saw an increase of 300 jobs (up 2%), while private education, health and other services added 140 jobs (up 2%).
Transport and storage grew by 70 jobs (up 3%), and agriculture and fishing gained 50 jobs (up 6%).
However, not all sectors experienced growth. Construction and quarrying recorded the largest decline, with a loss of 270 jobs (down 4%). The hospitality sector also saw a decrease of 100 jobs (down 2%), while wholesale and retail fell by 80 jobs (down 1%).
Information and communication experienced a reduction of 70 jobs (down 4%).
Looking at the broader trend over the past five years, from December 2019 to December 2024, the total number of jobs across all sectors increased by 3,410, or 5.6%.
Private sector jobs rose by 1,650 (up 3.1%) over the period. Meanwhile, the public sector saw a more substantial increase of 1,750 jobs (up 21.5%), pushing the proportion of the workforce employed in GOJ core jobs to 13.6%.
This is notably above the average of 12.2% recorded over the last two decades. The most significant increases in this period were again seen in the Children, Young People, Education and Skills department (up 680) and Health and Care Jersey (up 380).
