The unemployment rate for December 2015 for Jamaica edged down to 13.3 percent, a 0.9 percentage point decrease, compared to 14.2 percent in December 2014.
The number of unemployed persons decreased by 9,900, from 188,000 in December 2014, to 178,100 in December 2015, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica reported in April.
While the unemployment numbers decreased by just under 10,000 persons, more Jamaicans gained employment than the fall in the unemployed numbers. A total of 31,400 persons obtained employment in December 2015 over the similar period in 2014, resulting in 1,163,600 employed persons in the work force said by the STATIN to be 1,341,700 persons as of December 2015. In December 2014, a total of 1,132,200 residence in Jamaica were said to be employed.
Unemployment edge down
Little change in employed in March
Jamaica’s unemployment rate drops to 13.6 percent in March compared to March last year, according to data released by the Statistical institute of Jamaica (STATIN), but the rate is worse than it was in December last year. 
The unemployment rate in December was 13.4 percent according to Statin data for that period. There were 1,133,000 employed persons in March this year, which was 25,700 more than the 1,107,300 recorded in April 2013, the Statin labour report said, the March 2014 numbers are only a marginally better than the 1,130,500 persons employed in December last yea.
According to the Statin data, the country’s labour force in March was 1.311 billion persons down from 1.322 billion in Match 2013 as 11,300 persons exited the work force over the one year period, the report stated. At the same time 25,700 persons found work across a wide cross section of the work force. The number of persons classified as outside the Labour Force was 769,900 In March 2014 and an increase of 16,200 over 2013.
Who got jobs?|The Occupation group ‘Elementary Occupations’ increased by 18,200 persons or 12.8 percent, moving from 141,700 in April 2013 to 159,900 in March and the group, ‘Professionals, Senior Officials and Technicians’, increased from 241,900 persons in March 2013 to 251,700 persons (4.1 percent). The group ‘Craft and Related Trades Workers’ had the largest decline for the period, moving from 139,300 in March 2013 to 134,700 in 2014, resulting in a decline of 4,600 (3.3 percent) persons.
The number of persons employed in the ‘Hotels & Restaurants Services’ increased by 9,100 (13.4 percent) persons while the group ‘Transport, Storage and Communication’ increased by 7,300 (10.5 percent) persons.
