OPPOSITION Senator Dr Christopher Tufton said the government must consider the implications of leaving the over 350,000 Jamaicans identified by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica as ‘unemployed’ outside the labour force.

Tufton, who was speaking during the debate of the 2007/08 Appropriations (Budget) Bill in the Senate last Friday, said the administration was taking the wrong approach in dealing with the situation.

Tufton’s comments came in the wake of Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reports, that of the 1.2 million Jamaicans in the labour force, some 119,600 persons were unemployed, while a total 690,770 were deemed “outside the labour force”. According to STATIN, a 2006 survey showed that over 339,000 Jamaicans did not want to work.

The 14-19 age group numbering 272,800 and the 45 and over age group which stood at 149,300 accounted for the largest groups.

Voicing his discomfort with the situation, Tufton recommended that a closer look be taken at the over 330,000 Jamaicans who are of the age cohort to be part of the labour market but are not actively seeking work.

The senator was also at odds with the definition of the “employed person” as put forward by the International Labour Organisation and adhered to by STATIN. Based on the concept, which allows international comparisons of labour markets, any person of working age is considered employed if he or she worked for at least one hour over the one-week reference period. Persons who have a job who might not have worked over the reference period are still considered employed.

“There is a large chunk of Jamaicans out there who are left out of that, and the government needs to pay particular attention in terms of planning and moving forward in the future to understand the implications of leaving over 350,000 Jamaicans outside of the labour force. when they are frustrated by the job market,” Tufton told senators.

He was supported by Opposition Spokesperson on Industry and Commerce Senator Shirley Williams, who noted that any level of productivity anticipated would come from the employed labour force.

Williams said this was particularly difficult given the fact that of the 683,800 persons outside the workforce, 550,000 have not passed any examinations at any level.

“Our labour force is 1.2 million, we have unemployment of 10.3 per cent or 129,400, and of the 129,400 unemployed, there are 88,400 who have never passed any examinations,” Williams noted, pointing out that this meant that over 600,000 persons have no education, skills or training.

She said the answer lies in utilising the factory spaces overseen by the Factories Corporation of Jamaica.

“This is where our employment will come,” Williams said.

She, however, expressed disappointment with the pace at which the expansion process for the Montego Bay Freezone was progressing, claiming it was “not moving fast enough to meet the existing demand”. Williams further voiced discontent with the fact that the GoodYear factory in St Thomas, which was refurbished at some $300 million for the IT industry, still has no tenants.