A total of 154 island businesses responded to the Isle of Man Business Confidence survey.

This represented a response rate of 39% after 395 businesses were finally contacted.

The report says the response rate was a ‘very robust rate of return for a sample of this size.’

Here are some of the other points to come out of the survey.

lOne in four businesses have been negatively impacted by uncertainty over Brexit, and these are disproportionately found within the retail/wholesale sector, wherein two thirds (67%) report that Brexit has had a negative effect over the past six months.

lThe general services sector has experienced less growth over the past six months than weas predicted in November 2018 and its outlook for the next six months is cautiously optimistic.

Employers across most sectors are, on average, more optimistic about business growth over the next six months as compared to growth oberved over the previous six months; the exception being financial services, which expects its growth to slow significantly.

All sectors remain generally satisfied with the work permit system, in particular the financial services sector, which has recently increased its employment level.

Employers’ attitudes across most sectors to the education system, to planning services, and to government regulation remain comparable to findings from the previous survey; however the retail/wholesale sector currently expresses dissatisfaction with planning and with the regulatory environment.

Three-quarters of employers (75%) currently feel that it is easy to do business in the Isle of Man.

The survey points out that financial services account for 24.9% of the Isle of Man economy in terms of private sector employment and includes banking, fund management, trust, company fiduciary services, insurance and other financial services.

Employment in this sector is said to have actually increased over the past six months despite a previous indication that the sector would shed a small percentage of jobs. The survey points out increases in employment are largely driven by banking and insurance while corporate service providers and other business services have tended to decrease employment over the winter.