KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that 1,185,700 persons were employed as at January 2017, an increase of 21,900, relative to January 2016.

The figure, contained in the Labour Market Survey for the month, represented a further decrease in the unemployment rate, which stood at 12.7 per cent. This was 0.6 per cent lower than for January 2016 and a 0.2 per cent decline over October 2016.Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr Wayne Henry, said an examination of the employed labour force by sector showed that 10 of the industry groups recorded higher employment levels.These, he informed, include construction, up 14,200 persons; real estate, renting and business activities, inclusive of business process outsourcing, up 13,400 persons; and agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, up 6,700 persons.He was speaking during Tuesday’s quarterly media briefing at the PIOJ’s New Kingston head office. The Director General said the overall labour force increased by 16,300 persons to 1, 358,300 as at January 2017, and this was attributable to several factors.These, he pointed out, include an increase in the working-age population, 14 years and older, by 4,400 persons; and a contraction in the number of individuals outside the labour force by 11,900. “The main reasons cited for this contraction were a reduction in the number of persons who indicated that they were at school full-time, by 9,400; a reduction in the number of persons who indicated they were incapable of work, by 5,900; and a reduction in the number of persons who indicated they were staying home with dependents, by 1,800,” he said.Meanwhile, Henry reported a 10 per cent decline in category one crimes –serious, violent, and acquisitory crimes – for January to March 2017.There were 1,444 such crimes for the period, down from 1,598 for the March 2016 quarter. “This is equal to a rate of 53 persons per 100,000 of population down from 59 per 100,000 in 2016,” Henry explained.However, the number of murders for January to March 2017 increased to 325, from 270 in the corresponding quarter last year.“This is equal to a rate of 12 per 100,000 of population in January to March 2017, up from 10 per 100,000 of population in the similar quarter of 2016,” Henry noted.