JAMPRO Facilitates Close to 5,000 Jobs

Jamaica’s trade and investment agency, JAMPRO, facilitated the creation of close to 5,000 jobs during the last financial year.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, told Parliament during his Sectoral Debate presentation on Wednesday (June 20), that JAMPRO’s unaudited figures indicate that the agency facilitated 4,729 jobs, which is an increase of 10 per cent over its stated target of 4,285 jobs.

Just over half of the jobs were in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector. “The labour market, for this sector, is characterized by young high school or university graduates, who have the potential to earn conservatively, just under $500,000 per annum,” the Minister said.

He informed that the second significant contributor, with 34 per cent of the total jobs facilitated, was the creative industries, which generally create significant numbers of temporary jobs for the young, skilled and semi-skilled portion of the labour pool.

JAMPRO was established in 1988 to stimulate, facilitate, and promote the development of trade and industry, and export and investment activities in all sectors of the island’s economy.

By Andrea Braham, JIS Reporter