Attention PATH Beneficiaries! The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has been advised by Paymaster Jamaica Ltd. that its collection point in Morant Bay, St. Thomas, is not operational at this time. The Ministry is therefore inviting PATH beneficiaries who normally collect their benefit payments at Paymaster in Morant Bay, to visit either of the branches listed below for collection...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security is pleased to announce that Permanent Secretary Mrs. Colette Roberts Risden has accepted a two-year assignment, beginning in early September 2024, to provide strategic leadership and oversight for Jamaica's Overseas Employment Programmes in Canada and the United States. This special assignment reflects the critical importance of the Overseas Employment Programmes to Jamaica’s labour...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security received 4,988 work permit applications for the 2023 calendar year, an 8.8 per cent increase over 2022. Of this number, 2,644 were for renewals, while the remaining 2,344 were new applications. These details are contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2023, which was tabled in Parliament...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security advises all its NIS pensioners, Social Pensioners and PATH beneficiaries to be vigilant against scams circulating via text message (SMS) and on WhatsApp, informing recipients of "bonus" funds being disbursed. These messages are part of a scam and are not authentic communications from the Government of Jamaica. If you receive such a message...

Residents of St. Elizabeth have been hailed as resilient as the parish recovers in the aftermath of the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl.   St. Elizabeth was one of the parishes hardest hit by the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 3, causing severe structural and agricultural damage.  In an interview with JIS News, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining,...

Jamaicans whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the passage of Hurricane Beryl should start receiving emergency grant assistance within the next four weeks. “We intend to finish our assessments within the next week. We intend to finish our data entry within the next two weeks, and we intend to start the disbursement of relief within the next four weeks,”...

Based on the analysis of the damage assessments completed, so far, following Hurricane Beryl, it has been projected that 8,700 houses islandwide will require some level of support from the Government to aid in their recovery and rebuilding. “Of this amount, the vast majority would have suffered minor damage. Families whose houses have been totally destroyed, which, based on the...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security, through its Jamaica Liaison Service (JLS), is partnering with Jamaica National (JN) Money Services to strengthen support services provided to seasonal workers in Canada. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the entities, JN will have temporary occupation and use of the JLS offices in Leamington, British Columbia and Nova Scotia to offer...

Jamaica’s unemployment rate (LU1) was 5.4 per cent in January 2024, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) revised Labour Force Survey for the period. The revised Survey incorporates recommendations from the 19th, 20th and 21st International Conferences of Labour Statisticians. STATIN’s Deputy Director General, Leesha Delatie-Budair, presented the key indicators during Wednesday’s (July 17) Media Launch of the...