Industry Minister Highlights Low Unemployment Rate

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, is welcoming the decline in Jamaica’s unemployment rate, which stood at 4.5 per cent as of April 2023.

Making his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday (October 6), Senator Hill argued that the significant achievement of getting the unemployment down to this historical low is an achievement that affects every Jamaican everywhere.

“The lowering of unemployment and the raising of the number of people in employment, pulls into the earning economy many Jamaicans from the lower levels of our national labour force. This is good news for a vast number of Jamaicans who needed the work,” he stated.

Senator Hill stated that the Government “was building Jamaica for all Jamaicans”.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reported on August 15 that the number of unemployed persons in April this year fell by 19,700, or 24.3 per cent, to 61,300, compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

In addition, the number of unemployed males fell by 8,900, or 26.3 per cent, to 24,900, while the corresponding out-turn for females dropped from 47,200 last year to 36,400 in April.

The number of employed persons also increased by 43,300 to 1,312,600.

Source: JIS