Unemployment rate of Jamaica fell by 7.1%

Kingston, Jamaica: Prime Minister Andrew Holness noted, as per the survey report of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the unemployment rate of the island country fell to 7.1% during October 2021. This percentage has increased as compared to the same time period of October 2020, which was around 3.7% only.  

The data was conducted under the Labour Force Survey by STATIN. The prime minister and the other government high-rank officials expressed satisfaction over the declining rate of unemployment in the island country.

As per the data, the number of unemployed men and women witnessed a decline by 36% and 29%, respectively. Director-General of STATIN Carol Coy shared the survey’s findings during a media conference on January 12, 2022. 

The data was also shared by PM Holness via his Facebook page. Meanwhile, hundreds of Jamaicans appreciating the efforts and actions of the government expressed their delight in seeing the decline in the country’s unemployment rate. 

One of the social media users, named Rhoden Petal, commented on the post of the prime minister, citing, “This is positive news for a change. Now let’s see a 50% drop in the crime rate! Jamaica is a blessed and beautiful country, but crime has tarnished the economy. 72% increase in crime rate in 18 days? That’s a state of immediate emergency”.  

On the other hand, several citizens of Jamaica raised questions on the authenticity of the survey’s data while asking the government to answer their queries. 

Shanique Malcolm-Baker, a social media user, commented, “Please enlighten the population what job creation was implemented by your administration to cause employment growth?”.  

Some of the individuals asked the PM Holness led-Cabinet to focus on the primary alarming issue in the country that is a crime. 

“Andrew Holness, there will be no recovery in any sector until the crime, especially Homicides, are down, sir. Respectfully #Notapoliticalpost,” Luayne Witter commented on the prime minister’s post.  

This is indeed a milestone achieved by the Jamaican government, but the rising crime rate is among the challenges which are ahead of the island, as it is a threat to its economy as well as the tourism sector.