The Government is to spend approximately $27 million on the ‘Implementation Support for Skills Development for Global Services’ project, during the fiscal year 2019/20. Details about the project are provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The main objective of the project is to promote the growth of the Global Services Sector in Jamaica,...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will receive an additional $60 million to continue work on the Technical Cooperation Facility VI (TCF VI) in the new fiscal year. This is contained in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The five-year project, which commenced in November 2016, aims to identify and implement relevant, sustainable, visible and...

Keeping crime out of the gaming industry is a major focus of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), says Director of Enforcement at the BGLC, Noel Bacquie. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ recently, the Director said that persons wanting to become owners and operators of gaming machines will need to obtain a gaming licence from the BGLC. However,...

A sum of $703.7 million has been budgeted for 2019/2020 to increase Jamaica’s resilience to climate change, through enhancing adaptive capacity across priority sectors. Details of the project are outlined in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure tabled recently in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. The money will be...

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that inflation fell to 2.3 per cent in January 2019. The decline is the second consecutive out-turn falling below the four to six per cent target range, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, has said. It follows the 2.4 per cent recorded in December 2018 and is 1.5 per cent lower...

Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, says the country’s macroeconomic prospects “remain positive as the indicators and outputs continue to show signs of recovery. “Foreign reserves are above the level deemed adequate and the current account deficit remains low and sustainable. Additionally, market interest rates are at historic lows and fiscal performance continues to be strong,” he points out....

The total number of employed persons increased by 14,400 to 1,219,700 as at October 2018, relative to the corresponding period in 2017. This is according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) Labour Force Survey for the month, which shows the out-turn reducing the annual average unemployment rate to 9.1 per cent, the lowest recorded since 1968. The findings were...