Jamaica’s unemployment rate fell to a new record low of 6.2 per cent in January 2022. This, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) Labour Force Survey for the month, is a 0.9 percentage point lower than the figure recorded in October 2021. It is also 2.6 percentage points below the out-turn for the January 2021 Survey, Director General,...

The Government has invested more than $1.8 billion to militate against learning loss across the education sector. Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure during her contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 12). “This figure does not include our continued support of online/media platforms and educational resources, which...

Access to, and use of financial services will be made easier with the use of the digital payment wallet, Lynk. Digital payment wallets are the platforms used to facilitate transactions of the Bank of Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The CBDC is a digital form of central bank-issued currency and is legal tender that can be exchanged dollar for...

The Jamaica Deposit Insurance Corporation (JDIC) will be pursuing several internationally compliant reforms during fiscal year 2022/23, which aim to minimise the potential occurrence and impact of financial crises. They include establishing newer protection schemes for deposit and non-deposit taking financial institutions, financial consumer protection, and financial inclusion strategies. Pursuit of these reforms is among several engagements the JDIC has...

Bank of Jamaica (‘the Bank’) is taking a lead role in co-ordinating Jamaica’s migration from the Swift Message Type (MT) standard to the ISO 20022 – ‘Universal Financial Industry Message Scheme’ format by end 2025. Adoption of the ISO 20022 standard should improve payment processing efficiency and promote interoperability among financial institutions, financial market infrastructures and end-users. This initiative is...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is advising all property owners that Property Tax payment for the 2022/2023 fiscal year, which remains unchanged, becomes due on April 1, 2022. The TAJ system has been updated to reflect the liabilities for the period and is now available for online payments. Persons will have until April 30, to make their payment without any penalty...

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting a 6.7 per cent growth out-turn for the October to December 2021 quarter as Jamaica continues to rebound from the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is the sixth consecutive quarter of growth since a 15.6 per cent decline in the June 2020 quarter. The expansion in economic activity for the...