Jersey workers recorded a modest uplift in pay for the year to June, but the pace of growth has cooled. Statistics Jersey said earnings per full-time equivalent employee were 4.1% higher than a year earlier, and after adjusting for island inflation of 2.8% the agency calculated a 1.2% increase in real terms.
The figures sit well below the preceding five-year annual average of 5.6% and are described as slightly lower than the long-term annual average of 4.2% for 1991 to 2025. That contrast marks a clear deceleration in wage momentum compared with recent years.
The report breaks down longer-term sector trends. Over the most recent 12-year span average earnings in real terms rose 0.9% in the private sector and 2.9% in the public sector. Looking back 25 years, Statistics Jersey found real wages in the public sector fell by 3%, while private sector real earnings increased by 1.2%.
Statistics Jersey compiled the Index of Average Earnings from a large representative employer survey and data from all Government of Jersey departments. The office noted this is the fourth year the survey has been compulsory for employers to complete.
Agency statistician Matthew Gill put the numbers in context with historical comparisons and rising prices, saying, "It's not necessarily that people are earning less. With inflation going up, it is generally something that people will notice more. A lot of the inflation recently has been things like petrol, which people notice when topping up their cars and has an effect on deliveries for food and that type of thing."
Employers and workers reacted to the squeeze on household budgets. Heidi Gibaut, executive director at Law At Work, said many staff have taken on secondary roles to boost income and warned that approach does not scale, saying, "When I was younger, I did two roles; but it's not a sustainable way of living. It's not how you will get the best out of the colleagues that you currently work with." She urged employers to consider pay and pricing to address pressures on staff.
The report’s combination of slower recent growth and mixed long-term sector trends frames the pay debate on the island, backed by data collected through the mandatory employer survey now in its fourth year.
