The Labour Force October 2023

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) advises that the current highlights of the October 2023 Labour Force Survey findings are compared with the October 2021 survey results to indicate the changes that have occurred. This is due to the fact that a Labour Force Survey was not undertaken in October 2022 because of the implementation of the 2022 Population & Housing Census.

In October 2023, there were 1,320,400 employed persons: 85,600 more persons relative to October 2021. The largest increase in employment by occupation group was in ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’. The largest increases by industry group were in ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’ and ‘Construction’. The unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent in October 2023, 2.9 percentage points lower than the similar quarter of 2021. The unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent in both April and July 2023.

The size of the labour force increased.
In October 2023, there were 1,377,600 persons in the Labour Force, 48,900 (3.7%) more persons than in October 2021. There were 738,900 males and 638,700 females in the labour force. The male labour force increased by 24,100 (3.4%) and the female labour force by 24,800 (4.0%).

Increase in employment.
Of the 1,320,400 persons employed in October 2023, 715,900 were males and 604,500 were females. There were 85,600 (6.9%) more employed persons relative to October 2021. There were 40,000 (5.9%) more males employed and 45,600 (8.2%) more females.

Occupation group ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’ had the largest increase in the number of persons employed, followed by ‘Elementary Occupations’.
There were 308,400 persons employed in the largest occupation group, ‘Service Workers and Shopand Market Sales Workers’ in October 2023. This group had 31,000 more persons (11.2%) compared to October 2021. Within this occupation group, male employment increased by 13,500 (14.0%) and female employment by 17,500 (9.7%).

There were 172,100 persons employed in the group ‘Elementary Occupations’. Employment in this group increased by 22,400 persons (15.0%) compared to October 2021. The number of males employed in this group increased by 14,300 (16.3%), while females increased by 8,100 (13.1%). The number of employed persons in the occupation group ‘Skilled Agricultural and Fishery Workers’ was 175,300, a decrease of 13,000 persons (6.9%).

Industry groups ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’ and ‘Construction’ had the largest increases in the number of persons employed.
In October 2023, there were 152,600 persons working in ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’. The number of persons in the industry group increased by 22,000 persons (16.8%), 6,900 males and 15,100 females. The ‘Construction’ industry employed 133,200 persons, an increase of 19,300 (16.9%). Males accounted for 98.4 per cent (19,000) of the increase. There were 243,300 persons employed in the industry group ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles’. Compared to October 2021, there were 10,600 (4.6 %) more persons working in the industry, comprising 5,000 males and 5,600 females. The number of persons employed in ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing’ was 183,000, most of whom were males (136,600 or 74.6%). There were 8,900 fewer persons employed in this industry.

Decrease in the number of unemployed.
In October 2023, there were 57,300 unemployed persons. This was 36,600 (39.0%) fewer persons compared to October 2021; 4,000 and 4,900 fewer persons than in April and July 2023, respectively. The number of unemployed males was 23,100, a decrease of 15,800 (40.6%) relative to the similar quarter of 2021. The number of unemployed females was 34,200 compared to 55,000. The number of unemployed youths (persons aged 14 -24 years) was 26,200, a decrease of 11,100 (29.8%).

The unemployment rate decreased for males, females and youth.
The unemployment rate for October 2023 was 4.2 per cent. This was 2.9 percentage points lower than the 7.1 per cent in October 2021, 0.3 percentage points lower than April 2023 and 0.4 percentage points lower than July 2023. The unemployment rate for males was 3.1 per cent, down from 5.4 per cent in October 2021 and 5.4 per cent for females down from 9.0 in the comparable quarter of 2021. The youth (14-24 years) unemployment rate was 12.6 per cent, a difference of 6.3 percentage points when compared to 18.9 per cent in October 2021. This was 0.4 percentage points higher than April 2023 and 0.6 percentage points lower than July 2023. In October 2023, the unemployment rate for
males 14 to 24 years was 9.9 per cent and 15.9 per cent for females within the same age group.

The number of persons outside the labour force decreased.
The number of persons Outside the Labour Force was 724,600; 42,300 (5.5%) fewer persons compared to 766,900 in October 2021. In April there were 1,100 fewer persons outside the labour force, while there were 1,800 more persons outside the labour force in July 2023. There were 291,700
males and 432,900 females outside the labour force. When the current quarter is compared with October 2021, there were 22,100 (7.0%) fewer males and 20,200 (4.5%) fewer females outside the labour force. The 379,400 youth outside the labour force was 13,800 (3.5%) fewer than the similar quarter of 2021. There were11,700 (6.1%) fewer male youth and 2,100(1.0) fewer female youth outside the labour force.

The Labour Force Bulletin outlines additional information on Jamaica’s Labour force activities. The October 2023 Labour Force Survey is available on the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s website www.statinja.gov.jm or from the Information Section of the Institute at (876) 630-1619. Visit the Institute’s Facebook and Instagram pages @STATINJA for the October 2023 infographics.