Business and consumers shared opposing views about economic prospects of the country for the fourth quarter of 2017 as Jamaica continues to grapple with crime and the uncertainty of where the economy will be over the next 12 months.

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) yesterday reported that business optimism soared to the second-highest level Jamaica has seen since 2001, reaching an index of 142.6 for the fourth quarter — marginally below the all-time peak of 144.6 in the first quarter of 2016. Concurrently, the country saw a two percentage point decline in consumer confidence, reaching an index of 148 for the three months ending December 2017.

It’s the third-consecutive quarter that business and consumer indices have moved in opposite directions since the start of 2017. Before that the country only disagreed on confidence levels during the second quarter of 2016.

Pollster Don Anderson said the increased confidence expressed by business owners was largely due to convictions that the economic indicators are moving in the right direction, as well as confidence in the strategies that have been put in place to tackle crime.

Jamaica’s business confidence index at 142.6 was 5.4 percentage points higher than the 135.2 experienced at the end of third quarter 2017 and 0.4 percentage points above the corresponding fourth quarter of 2016.

“The Government’s policy specifically relating to crime has gone some way in enhancing the optimism reported as crime and violence has consistently negatively impacted business confidence over the years. Nothwithstanding, crime and violence is still seen as the number one problem facing the country,” managing director of Market Research Services, Anderson, stated in the JCC’s fourth-quarter summary report yesterday.

“Again we note that the murder figures are above 60 since the start of the year, and that is alarming. Businesses are therefore making the point quite clear that the biggest drawback to the realisation of all that they are looking forward to is the level of crime,” he said.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/business-optmism-soars-while-consumers-lose-confidence_122679