TRINIDAD and Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda were the Caribbean countries most affected last year by the global financial crisis, a new economic survey has found.

The cost of the crisis to the Caribbean was estimated at 10 per cent of GDP, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said at the launch of its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2009-2010 at its subregional headquarters in Port of Spain.

The survey found that GDP growth contracted in all Caribbean countries in 2009 with the exception of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Montserrat.

Stimulus packages in the region did not have any significant effect because of deficits and high levels of public debt, the survey said.

Unemployment increased in 2009 for Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and Jamaica. The Bahamas and Belize were the most affected with unemployment spiking by at least five percentage points.

Growth prospects for the Caribbean remain bleak in 2010 based on low commodity prices, weak tourism receipts and threats to a robust recovery internationally, the ECLAC survey said.

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