Remittance flows into Jamaica play a critical role for the country, it is the second largest inflow of foreign exchange after tourism. While tourism has now reached record levels for September and October, remittances fell US$16 million in September this year from the same period last year, with the country receiving U$288 million or 5.3 percent less than in 2021.
September is the fifth month for the year to register a decline and follows August with an increase of 12.7 percent.
The decline brings the year to date fall to 1.9 percent with a total intake of US$2.55 billion, just under a billion dollars to match the total 2021 inflows of $3.5 billion. August registered a strong 12.7 percent increase to $307 million over the $273 million in 2021, but follows declines of May 8.1 percent, 4.7 percent in June and a fall of 5.6 percent in July.
Notwithstanding the decline this year, remittances are still well ahead of the pre-pandemic inflows of $2.4 billion in 2019.
Jamaica remittances fell in September
November 6, 2022 by
