STATIN reports employment continues to rise as unemployment continues to fall
KINGSTON, JAMAICA — The country’s latest labour force survey shows positive movement as far as jobs in Jamaica are concerned, as unemployment continues to trend downwards while employment trends in the opposite direction.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has consistently shown improving numbers in the unemployment and employment rates on the island over the past few years.
This is particularly surprising, but encouraging, as Jamaica, like much of the rest of the Caribbean, recovers from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
STATIN’s most recent labour force survey covered up to July 2022.
It found, “In July 2022, there were 1,268,000 employed people, an increase of 53,000 compared to the similar quarter of 2021.”
Additionally, the organization found that women largely took the lion’s share of jobs in Jamaica, driving up employment rates.
“The number of employed males increased by 11,000 (1.6 percent) to 688,500,” STATIN noted.
“The number of employed women increased by 42,000 (7.8 percent) to 579,500, accounting for 79.2 percent of the increase in the employed labour force.
“There were 18,800 more employed youth (aged 14 to 24), with women 20 to 24 years old accounting for 83.3 percent or 15,100.”
Unemployment drops again
Another drop in unemployment also signaled good news on the jobs front, with STATIN reporting a decrease of nearly two percentage points.
“The unemployment rate in July 2022 was 6.6 percent, 1.9 percentage points lower than the 8.5 percent recorded in July 2021,” the labour force found.
“The male unemployment rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points from 6.3 percent to 5.2 percent, while the female unemployment rate declined by 2.8 percentage points from 11.1 percent to 8.2 percent.”
More service jobs in Jamaica
Further, according to STATIN’s data, service jobs in Jamaica saw the biggest increase since the same period last year.
Here, too, women in Jamaica accounted for the majority of the increase.
“The occupation groups ‘Clerks’ and ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’ combined accounted for the majority of the increase in the employed labour force,” STATIN explained.
It added, “The largest increase in employment by industry group was in ‘Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities’ (21,700 people or 18.9 percent), moving to 136,800 in July 2022.
“Women accounted for more than three-quarters of the increase in this group.”
Find the latest jobs in the Caribbean via Caribbean Employment Services Inc.