Jamaica’s unemployment rate drops to a new record low

Jamaica’s unemployment rate is now at a record low of 3.5 per cent as indicated by the October 2024 Labour Force Survey (LFS), the results of which were released on Wednesday by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

The previous record of 3.6 per cent was recorded in July 2024.

According to the LFS, the total labour force in October 2024 was 1,468,300 individuals: 789,100 males (53.7 per cent) and 679,200 females (46.3 per cent).

STATIN said the overall labour force participation rate was 68.1 per cent. Males had a higher participation rate of 74.5 per cent compared to 61.9 per cent for females.

The total number of employed persons was 1,417,000, with males comprising more than half (768,500 or 54.2 per cent) of the employed labour force. Of those employed, 22,900 individuals (1.6 per cent) were underemployed, that is, working part-time while wanting additional hours.

The largest occupation group was ‘Services and  Sales  Workers’  with  343,400  employed persons, accounting for nearly one-fourth (24.2 per cent) of the total employed population. This group had the largest number of employed females, 224,600; nearly twice as many as the

118,800 males. The second largest occupation group was ‘Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Workers’ with 201,400 workers, followed by ‘Elementary Occupations’ with 176,200 employed persons. The occupation group  ‘Craft and Related Trades Workers’  had the largest employment of males, 154,200.

The largest employer among industry groups was ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles’, employing 265,600 individuals, representing 18.7 per cent of the total workforce. There were 144,700 females employed in this industry group, accounting for 54.5 per cent. The second largest industry group was ‘Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing’, which employed 201,400 persons, with males accounting for 73.7 per cent of employees in this group.

STATIN said the total number of unemployed individuals in October 2024 was 51,300, with females making up 60.0 per cent. Among the unemployed, 21,600 were youth aged 15 to 24 years, with females accounting for 12,000 or 55.6 per cent of this category of workers.

Overall, the female unemployment rate was higher at 4.5 per cent, while the unemployment rate for males was 2.6 per cent. The youth unemployment rate was 11 per cent.

Despite the improvement in the unemployment numbers, STATIN said there were 687,500 individuals outside the labour force in October 2024, with more females (417,800) than males (269,700) within this group. Of those outside the labour force, 29,400 or 4.3  per cent were classified as part of the potential labour force which includes individuals seeking employment but not available to work, or available for work but not looking for a job.

There were 294,300 young people (aged 15 to 24 years) outside the labour force, accounting for 42.8 per cent of this group.