PIOJ/BOJ On Employment

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Director General, Dr. Wayne Henry, says data from the April 2021 labour market survey indicates that more than half of the 151,100 persons who lost their jobs in July 2020, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been reinstated.

This figure, he said, amounts to some 84,400 persons, despite the employed labour force declining by 40,500 persons to 1,206,000 in April, relative to the same period in 2019 when the last corresponding survey was conducted. None was undertaken in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Dr. Henry noted that while not comparable because of seasonality factors, when compared with January 2020 when Jamaica recorded its pre-COVID-19 employment high, “employment levels have increased since July 2020, as the economy gradually reopens”.

“Pre-COVID-19 employment levels should be attained in fiscal year 2022/23,” he said, while speaking during the PIOJ’s digital quarterly media briefing on Thursday (August 26).

According to the April 2021 survey, conducted by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), eight of 16 industry groups recorded lower levels of employment.

Among these were: arts and entertainment, down 22,100 persons; accommodation and food service activities/hotels and restaurants, down 20,500 persons; and transport and storage, down 12,900 persons.

The overall unemployment rate in April, was 9.0 per cent, which was 1.2 percentage points lower than the corresponding period in 2019.

Meanwhile, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Richard Byles, who also weighed in on the findings, noted that the 9.0 per cent rate reflected a 3.6 percentage points decline on the July 2020 outturn.

“The decline in the unemployment rate reflected a reduction of 42,300 in the number of unemployed persons as well as a growth of 42,100 in the labour force. The labour market continues [to be] on a path of improvement,” he said during the BOJ’s recent digital quarterly briefing.