Unemployment Falls to New Record Low 4.5 Per Cent

The country’s unemployment rate fell to a new record low 4.5 per cent in April 2023, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) Labour Force Survey for the period.

This was 1.5 percentage points lower than the out-turn for the corresponding timeline in 2022, Director General, Carol Coy, indicated.

Speaking during STATIN’s quarterly digital media briefing on Tuesday (August 15), Ms. 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 said.

A larger number of females were employed mainly in the occupation group ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’ and within the industry group ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’.

The largest increase in the Employed Labour Force by occupation group was in ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’.

STATIN reports that there were 311,600 persons employed in this cohort in April 2023, an increase of 27,700 or 9.8 per cent, compared to the corresponding period last year.

Male employment within this occupation group increased by 11,000 or 10.7 per cent, while the female numbers rose by 16,700 or 9.2 percentage points.

In April 2023, there were 141,600 persons employed in the industry group ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’.

Compared to April 2022, the largest increase in the number of persons employed occurred in this industry (15,300 or 12.1 per cent). Females accounted for 71.2 per cent (10,900) of the increase in this industry.

‘Wholesale and Retail Trade: Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles’ employed 249,800 persons and had the second largest increase of 13,100 or 5.5 per cent.

STATIN also advised that there was increased employment in all age groups.