Chamber of Commerce president Ray Shead

OVER a third of local businesses say that credit is harder to come by.

According to the latest Jersey Chamber of Commerce confidence survey, 36% of respondents say that credit is harder to access than it was six months ago. Around a quarter of Chamber members are represented in the survey, which was carried out in June.

The members were also asked whether the terms of any overdraft facility had changed within the last six months, for instance requiring higher interest rates or with a reduced limit. Half said they did not have an overdraft, 36% said it had remained the same and eight per cent said terms had become tighter.

Businesses were also asked whether customers were taking longer to pay invoices. Around 30% said it was taking customers longer to pay amounts due. Around eight per cent of the respondents said it was now taking them longer to pay their suppliers.

Asked about wages, 36% said the wage increases given to staff will be smaller than last year. Another 39% said that wages will remain unchanged and 16% expect to reduce the overall wage bill.

Chamber president Ray Shead said: ‘I would like to thank members for taking the time once again to complete this survey – collectively Chamber members employ close to 20,000 people, so this is important guidance as to the current state of the local economy.’