Snapshot update of Isle of Man's economic strategy shows progress

The government aims to grow the island's population to 100,000 by 2037

The Manx government's economic strategy has shown "signs of growth" in its first year, the chief minister has said.

The 10-to-15-year plan was launched in November 2022 with a number of targets to grow the working population.

Alfred Cannan said the report was an "overarching snapshot" of "early indicators of progress".

He said despite the "economic challenges" the report had shown things were moving forward positively.

However Mr Cannan said there was "still work to do over the coming years to ensure long term security, vibrancy and sustainability", and the "full value" of the strategy would be "felt over the long-term".

Government hopes to grow the population to 100,000 by 2037 and create 5,000 new employment opportunities.

'Challenges remain'

The report said jobs had risen by 3% since November 2022 with 1,500 new roles, and there was a "general trend of population growth" with an average 90 to 100 more people each quarter.

The plan's next target is to reach 1,800 new jobs by 2026.

The first year report outlined that government had received an estimated £40m ahead of what was budgeted in income tax receipts, however a final figure on that would be announced in February's budget.

It also stated market volatility and "some large expenditures" had effected the government's "externally invested reserves", which had fallen from more than £2bn in 2021 to £1.7m in 2023.

Next year's focus was redesigning the Department for Enterprise's support schemes, which were "a key factor" in attracting and growing businesses, the report stated.

Treasury Minister Alex Allinson said the year had seen "growing numbers of people employed, new housing developments going through planning approval, and increasing tax receipts".

While the island had tackled cost of living challenges throughout 2023, he said there were positive signs of economic strength.

The report will be presented to Tynwald in January.

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