2.6% Increase in Employed Persons As Of July

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that the number of employed Jamaicans was 1,254,100 as of July 2019, representing a 2.6 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.

According to the Labour Force Survey for July, the number of unemployed persons fell by 4.8 per cent to 106,700.

Overall unemployment as at July, held firm at a record low of 7.8 per cent, as was the case in the April 2019 Survey. The out-turn was 0.6 percentage points lower than the 8.4 per cent for July 2018.

This was disclosed by the Institute’s Director General, Carol Coy, during STATIN’s quarterly briefing at The Knutsford Court Hotel on Thursday (October 17).

Ms. Coy said a breakdown of the data shows that the number of employed males in July increased by 12,900 to 693,200, while female employment grew by 18,600 persons to 560,900.

This translated into males accounting for 55.3 per cent of the employed labour force and females, 44.7 per cent.

Ms. Coy said by virtue of the latter out-turn, female unemployment decreased by 6,400 persons or 10.2 per cent to 64,000. However, the number of unemployed males spiked by 1,000 individuals to 42,700, resulting in the rate remaining at 5.8 per cent.

The unemployment rate for youth, aged 14-24, fell by two percentage points to 20.2 per cent, relative to July 2018.

The rate for male youth was 16.8 per cent compared to 17.3 per cent in July 2018, while the out-turn for females was 24.5 per cent which was 3.8 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year.

Ms. Coy advised that the number of persons classified as being outside the labour force in July 2019 was 726,000.

This represented a decrease of 26,700 persons or 3.5 per cent relative to July 2018, she noted.

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