The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) in its review of the April labour force survey (LFS) has reported an unemployment rate of 9 per cent. The unemployment rate for males was 7.5 per cent and 10.8 per cent for females.

Statin said that due to the cancellation of the April 2020 LFS following the measures implemented by Government to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), comparative analysis for this survey was done against that of April 2019. The unemployment rate at that time stood at 7.8 per cent and represents a 1.2 percentage point increase. In the last LFS, conducted in January of this year, the employment rate was 8.9 per cent.

“For the April 2021 LFS, there were 119,400 unemployed persons. This was an increase of 13.5 per cent or 14,200 in the number of unemployed persons when compared to April 2019. The number of unemployed males was 53,400, an increase of 34.2 per cent. In comparison, the number of unemployed females was 66,000 compared to 65,400 in April 2019,” said Statin Director General Carol Coy in a quarterly briefing virtually held yesterday.

She said that for the period, the youth (ages 14-24) unemployment rate also increased by 4.6 percentage points to 24 per cent in April 2021 when compared to 2019. The unemployment rate for male youths was 21.1 per cent and 28 per cent for females.

Coy indicated that stemming from the continued effects of the pandemic, the largest declines in the number of people employed relative to 2019, continues to be within the arts, entertainment, recreation and other services which fell by 17. 1 per cent or 22,100 persons and accommodation and food service activities, down 18.1 per cent or by 25,500 persons. “These industries, as we know, were those most heavily impacted by the measures put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19,” Coy stated.

Activities in these sectors, particularly those in entertainment and tourism, have since been on the rebound, though nowhere near pre-COVID levels. Up to the first quarter of this year, the services sector under which these fall, contracted by 9.9 per cent.

According to Statin data, the highest number of employed Jamaicans by industry group was found within the wholesale & retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 233,000 people followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing with 192,200 persons and construction with 118,400 persons.

“Based on the findings from the April 2021 LFS it is estimated that 1,206,000 Jamaicans were in the employed labour force. This was 40,500 or 3.2 per cent fewer when compared to April 2019. The number of employed males decreased by 30,600 or 4.4 per cent to 661,900. There were 544,100 employed females, which was 9,900 or 1.8 per cent less when compared to the April 2019,” Coy noted in her presentation.

The data further revealed that up to the review period there was a decline in the size of the labour force, or 26,300 fewer than that in 2019. “Compared to April 2019, the male labour force declined by 17,000 or 2.3 per cent and female labour force by 9,300 or 1.5 per cent.”