Jamaica’s unemployment rate as at July is 3.6% – STATIN

Jamaica’s unemployment rate for July 2024 stood at a new record low of 3.6 per cent.

This is according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) in its latest Labour Force Survey that was released on Friday.

The survey found that in July 2024, the total labour force comprised 1,461,600 individuals: 775,300 males (53.0%) and 686,300 females (47.0%). STATIN said the overall labour force participation rate was 67.8 per cent. Males had a higher participation rate of 73.2 per cent compared to 62.6 per cent for females.

The total number of persons employed as at July 2024 was 1,409,000. More than half (750,200 or 53.2%) of the employed labour force were males. Of those who were employed, 20,000 individuals (1.4%) were underemployed, meaning that they are working part-time while wanting additional hours.

STATIN said the largest occupation group was ‘Services and Sales Workers’ with 338,200 employed individuals, accounting for 24.0 per cent of the total employed population. This group also had the largest number of employed females, 224,400; nearly twice as many as the 113,800 males employed in this group.

The second largest group was ‘Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers’ with 190,500 workers, followed by ‘Elementary Occupations’ in which 185,900 persons were employed. The occupation group ‘Craft and Related Trades Workers’ had the largest employment of males, 154,900.

The largest employer among industry groups was ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles’, which provided jobs for 265,200 individuals, amounting to 18.8 per cent of the total workforce. There were slightly more females (54.4 % or 144,200) employed in this industry group. 

The second largest industry group was ‘Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing’, with 201,000 persons employed; males accounting for 74.2 per cent of employees in the sector.

STATIN said the total number of unemployed individuals in July was 52,600, with females making up 52.5 per cent. Of these unemployed persons, 19,500 were youth aged 15 to 24 years, with females accounting for 10,100 or 51.8 per cent.

“Female unemployment was higher at 4.0 per cent compared to males, which stood at 3.2 per cent. The unemployment rate for youth was 10.4 per cent, with young adult females having a higher unemployment rate of 11.8 per cent, while the rate for young adult males was 9.1 per cent,” STATIN outlined.

Regionally, the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.6 per cent, followed by Other Urban Centres at 3.7 per cent and Rural Areas at 4.3 per cent.