The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) has announced plans to diversify its loan products to meet the needs of Jamaicans seeking new and flexible learning opportunities outside of traditional degree programmes. The new product offerings are expected to expand financing options for Jamaicans, enabling access to a broader spectrum of studies—including professional certifications and emerging skill areas vital to national development....

Questioners administrated for the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC) will cover a wide range of areas such as food consumption, health, housing, education, and employment. Survey teams from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), are currently conducting household-level interviews across the island to gather data for the survey. In an interview with JIS News, Acting Unit Head in the...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has indicated that it takes approximately nine to ten months to process and release the findings from the annual Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC). Director of Policy Research in the PIOJ’s Social Policy Planning and Research Division, Suzette Johnson, told JIS News that the timeline reflects the extensive review and validation processes the...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has announced that data from the 2025 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC) will be used to generate poverty maps. These are intended to provide deeper insights into living standards and socioeconomic vulnerabilities across communities. Director of Policy Research in the PIOJ’s Social Policy Planning and Research Division, Suzette Johnson, told JIS News that...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, has commended Jamaica’s micro-finance institutions for their pivotal role in supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and advancing national economic development. She was speaking during Access Financial Services’ recent 25th Anniversary Gala and Awards Ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. Mrs. Williams noted that microfinance institutions...

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings, today, September 25, 2025, upgraded Jamaica’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings from 'BB-' to BB,' while its outlook remains “Positive”. The rating reflects S&P’s assessment of Jamaica’s strengthening institutional and policy frameworks, supported by consensus across both political parties and various economic sectors on macroeconomic policies focused on debt reduction. It...

Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, has asserted that artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly assist Jamaica in achieving its national development goals outlined in Vision 2030. “By leveraging AI, the country can address critical challenges and accelerate progress across various sectors as well as boost its global competitiveness, given the AI-driven transformation of the global market,”...