Businesses on the island have reported experiencing stable conditions but challenges in recruitment, costs, and infrastructure are persisting.
The latest Isle of Man Business Environment and Conditions Survey has been published and is available below.
Some of the main gripes are poor transport links, recruitment struggles and the planning system.
Of the businesses that responded, 60.1% of businesses saw no change in their overall situation over the past six months, while the remainder were split between improvement and deterioration.
A slight optimism was noted, with 25.7% expecting improvement in the next six months compared to 15.5% anticipating decline.
Constraints
Financial constraints were the most cited challenge, affecting 30.4% of businesses, followed by insufficient demand (17.3%).
Operating expenses rose for 66.9% of firms, while 56.8% reported increased staffing costs. “Labour costs were cited by 41.3% of businesses as a factor influencing price rises,” the report stated.
Profitability declined for 35.3% of businesses, though fewer (28%) expect further drops in the next six months. Debt obligations were a concern for some, with 12.4% expressing low or no confidence in meeting them.
Recruitment
Recruitment difficulties affected 43% of businesses, higher than the UK’s 33.2%.
Roles for skilled, manual, or technical employees were hardest to fill. “23.6% of businesses cited a lack of qualified applicants as the main reason,” the survey found.
Operational challenges followed, with 21.4% of firms requiring staff to work extra hours.
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction with infrastructure was also found to be widespread.
Two-thirds of businesses expressed moderate to strong dissatisfaction with the planning system, while 71.4% were unhappy with transport links. “Very dissatisfied was the most frequent response regarding transport costs and quality,” the report noted.
Despite these issues, 77.8% of businesses would recommend the Isle of Man as a business location.
However, opinions on ease of doing business were divided, with 47.6% expressing moderate to strong disagreement, a reversal from 2023.
The survey also highlighted concerns over skills, with 84.4% of businesses believing young people lack workplace-ready skills.
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