Businesses think the Manx economy is looking up.

That’s if a survey conducted by the government is right.

The results of the first business confidence survey were released today by the economic affairs division of the Cabinet Office.

The survey invited feedback from local employers to gauge business activity, optimism, future employment and investment for all sectors of the economy.

It also asked a number of questions regarding employers’ perspectives on any skills gap they have, the Living Wage and cyber security, among others.

The report indicates a general business environment of optimism and the anticipation of growth, although different sectors show different levels of confidence. The most confident sector is financial services while the construction sector is the least confident.

Other headlines from the report are:

Employers across all sectors anticipate an increase in employment in the next six months.

Employers across all sectors, on average, are more optimistic about growth over the next six months compared with their growth over the previous six months.

The majority of businesses indicate that they already pay all employees at or above the Living Wage rate of £8.61.

Nearly three quarters of employers feel that it is easy to do business on the Isle of Man.

Minister for Policy and Reform Chris Thomas MHK said: .The Treasury Minister’s Budget built on clear signs of business confidence and this is reflected in our first business confidence survey.’

Of course we cannot be complacent, but it is encouraging that employers feel it is easy to do business here and are optimistic about business growth, including an increase in employment.

The Isle of Man Business Confidence Survey 2017 report is published on the economic affairs division section of the government website.