Jamaica Close to Full Employment – PM

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the country is close to full employment, citing further reduction in Jamaica’s unemployment rate to a record low 4.5 per cent.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reported on Tuesday (August 15) that the out-turn, based on the April 2023 Labour Force Survey, is 1.5 percentage points lower than the figure for the corresponding period in 2022.

In a statement on Wednesday (August 16), Prime Minister Holness, who described the announcement as “great news”, said this means that “we are now close to full employment… [and] that our economy continues to expand”.

“But what it really means is that more Jamaicans have income. It means that more Jamaican families can do much better than they were doing before,” he emphasised.

Mr. Holness, who is the Minister of Economic Growth and Job Creation, maintained that “this is the best news that our economy can have”, pointing out that “we are building Jamaica”.

Speaking at STATIN’s quarterly digital media briefing on August 15, Director General, Carol Coy, informed that the number of unemployed persons in April this year fell by 19,700, or 24.3 per cent, to 61,300, compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

She noted that the number of unemployed males fell by 8,900, or 26.3 per cent, to 24,900, while the corresponding out-turn for females dropped from 47,200 last year to 36,400 in April.

The number of unemployed youth, aged 14 to 24, was 24,600, a decrease of 6,800 or 21.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the number of employed persons increased by 43,300 to 1,312,600.

“Females accounted for over two-thirds of this increase. Employed females grew by 5.1 per cent or 29,700, while employed males increased by two per cent or 13,600,” Ms. Coy indicated.