The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level on record, with January 2019 unemployed falling 1.6 percentage points from 9.6 percent in January 2018 and ending at was 8 percent for the first month of 2019.
The fall in the unemployed number arose from an increase in the Employed Labour Force for January 2019 of 1,232,700, some 28,600 or 2.4 percent more than in January 2018. The largest increase in employment was in the occupation group ‘Clerks’ 12,800 or 15.8 percent, which moved to 94,000 in January 2019. Of the increase in employment in this group, females accounted for 8,300 persons.
Female employment was 3.5 percent more and males 1.4 percent than in the 2018 period, Statin data shows. The increase in employment for females was more than twice that of males. The number of employed males increased by 9,500 to 673,500 and employed females by 19,100 to 559,200.
More females were employed in the occupation groups ‘Professionals, Senior Officials and Technicians’ and ‘Clerks’. There was also an increase in the number of females employed in the industry groups ‘Hotels & Restaurants Services’ and ‘Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities’.
Jamaica’s historical low unemployment
April 16, 2019 by