Decline in unemployment continues – STATIN Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that the unemployment rate for July 2022 was 6.6 per cent.

This was a 1.9 percentage point decline compared to the corresponding period last year.

Director General of the institute, Carol Coy, said the data showed that in July 2022 there were 89,700 unemployed persons, 22,800 fewer when compared to July 2021.

She said the number of unemployed males decreased by 8,100, noting that there was a larger decline in the number of unemployed females of 14,700.

She was speaking during STATIN’s quarterly digital briefing on Wednesday (October 19).

“The male unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent, representing a 1.1 percentage point decline. For females, the unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent. This represents a 2.8 percentage point decline compared to July 2021,” she said.

Coy further indicated that there were 14,300 fewer unemployed persons between the age group 20 and 24 years, accounting for 62.7 per cent of the total decline in the number of unemployed persons. She added that the youth unemployment rate, that is persons 14 to 24 years, was 16.7 per cent compared to 23.9 per cent in July 2021.

She noted that for July 2022, there were 1,357,700 persons in the labour force, an increase of 30,200 or 2.3 per cent compared to 1,327,500 in July 2021.

Coy said the increase was mainly in the female labour force, which grew by 27,400, while the male labour force only increased by 2,800.

She said there were 1,268,000 employed persons in July, an increase of 53,000 or 4.4 per cent.

Coy noted that females accounted for the larger proportion of the increase in employment, 79.2 per cent or 42,200.

“There were 579,500 employed females in July, compared to 537,500 in the similar quarter of 2021. Males, on the other hand, increased by 11,000 to 688,500,” she said.

She noted that youth employment also showed strong growth, with employed youth aged 14 to 24 years increasing by 18,800.

“Of this increase, females 20 to 24 years accounted for 80.3 per cent or 15,100,” she said.

She noted that clerks, service workers and shop and market sales workers and craft and related trades workers had the largest increases in employment.

Coy said a comparison of the July quarters of 2022 and 2021 showed that the group ‘clerks’, which includes customer service clerks, contact centre information clerks and enquiry clerks, increased by 25,400 to 132,200.

“This was the largest increase in employment among occupation groups, with females accounting for the majority of the increase, 16,100 or 63.4 per cent,” she said.

The STATIN director general noted that the group ‘service workers and shop and market sales workers’ increased by 21,400, moving to 290,700.

“Again, females accounted for the larger increase, 18,100 or 84.6 per cent. Within this group, there are personal service workers, such as waiters, bartenders and hairdressers, and also sales workers, such as street food vendors, store/supermarket/shop clerks and cashier and ticket clerks.

‘Craft and related trades workers’, which includes groups such as masons and plumbers, increased by 9,600 to 157,200. Unlike the other two occupation groups, the largest increase was for males, 6,600 or 68.8 per cent,” she said.

Coy stated that employment in the industries of ‘real estate and renting and business activities’, ‘accommodation and food service activities’, and ‘construction’ accounted for the largest increase in employment.

NewsAmericasNow.com