Note 4 - Fair Value Measurements - Available-for-sale Securities (Details) xbrli-pure in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	$ 54,573
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized gains
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses	(1,055)
Available-for-sale securities, fair value	53,518
Available-for-sale securities, OTTI in OCI
CLO IV [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	27,922
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized gains
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses	(660)
Available-for-sale securities, fair value	27,262
Available-for-sale securities, OTTI in OCI
Available-for-sale securities, number of positions	1
CLO V [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	$ 26,651
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized gains
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses	(395)
Available-for-sale securities, fair value	26,256
Available-for-sale securities, OTTI in OCI
Available-for-sale securities, number of positions	1

Amount, before tax, of unrealized gain in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) on investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale).

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleDebtSecuritiesAccumulatedGrossUnrealizedGainBeforeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, before tax, of unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) on investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale).

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleDebtSecuritiesAccumulatedGrossUnrealizedLossBeforeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amortized cost of investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942338&loc=SL82898722-210454

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleDebtSecuritiesAmortizedCostBasis
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942338&loc=SL82898722-210454

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118954083&loc=d3e26610-111562

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (aa)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesDebtSecurities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of investments in debt securities measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale), in unrealized loss position, without allowance for credit loss. Includes beneficial interest in securitized financial asset.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 6
-Subparagraph (b)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27290-111563

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118955579&loc=SL82922888-210455

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtSecuritiesAvailableForSaleUnrealizedLossPositionNumberOfPositions
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, before tax, of other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) on investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale), recognized in other comprehensive income (OCI).

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 10A
-Subparagraph (g)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118930883&loc=SL7669646-108580

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 8A
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118954083&loc=SL6284422-111562

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherThanTemporaryImpairmentLossesInvestmentsPortionInOtherComprehensiveIncomeLossBeforeTaxIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterestAvailableforsaleSecurities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=jmp_CLOIVMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=jmp_CLOVMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: