STATIN reports 8.9% growth in services for Q1 2022
KINGSTON, JAMAICA — The services industry has the potential to create thousands of new jobs in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean.
Service industries are those that provide services to clients rather than goods. They include sectors like hospitality, banking, wholesale/retail, communications and transportation, as compared to goods sectors like agriculture, mining, construction and manufacturing.
Joseph Boll.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) just this week reported that Jamaica’s services industry grew by a major 8.9 percent for the first three months of 2022, indicating its rapidly improving economic prospects.
Joseph Boll, CEO of Caribbean Employment Services Inc., the region’s leading online talent recruitment service, noted, “Increased economic activity and growth almost always coincides with more job opportunities, and it would be no surprise if this turns out to also be the case for Jamaica.
“The potential for the services sector to directly and indirectly lead to increased employment is enormous and we would be happy to connect jobseekers with the new jobs that become available.”
STATIN data
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
According to STATIN, “The Jamaican economy grew by 6.4 percent during the first quarter of 2022, when compared to the first quarter of 2021.
“This was due to growth in both the services and goods-producing industries of 8.9 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.
“The easing of COVID-19 containment measures, including the withdrawal of the Disaster Risk Management Order, during the period positively impacted economic activity.”
Services industry must be targeted for job growth
Speaking not just to jobs in Jamaica but throughout the Caribbean, the Caribbean Export Development Agency likewise highlighted the potential of the services industry.
Caribbean Employment Services Inc. CEO Joseph Boll and the Caribbean Export Development Agency believe the services industry is key to job growth in the Caribbean.
As such, it urged Caribbean nations to “embrace services as a viable option”.
In a recently published Op-Ed, the organization said, “Services are crucial for further developing Caribbean countries, providing a strong economic dynamism and creating the source for job creation and welfare.”
It noted that the services industry accounts for around 65 percent of the Caribbean’s GDP, adding, “There is room for services to grow and become a better generator of jobs and foreign exchange in areas such as business and professional services; music; fashion; animation and film; and outsourcing to contribute towards the economic transformation of the Caribbean.”
However, it also cautioned that “innovation needs to be the driving force behind service industries in order to create jobs”.
Find the latest jobs in the Caribbean via Caribbean Employment Services Inc.