THE Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) reports that, for the December 2021 period in Jamaica, there were remittance inflows of US$303.6 million, an increase of 7.5 per cent or US$21.2 million in comparison to December of 2020.

Overall, remittance inflows into the island for the January to December 2021 period totalled US$3.497 billion.

The holiday inflows topped the prior year’s performance. The central bank says the improvement in the last month of the year resulted from an increase in total remittance inflows of 6.7 per cent or US$20.3 million aided by a decrease of 5.0 per cent or US$0.9 million in outflows.

The bank also notes that the increase in gross remittance inflows resulted from a growth of 6.6 per cent in inflows via remittance companies, complemented by an increase in inflows via other remittances (which includes commercial banks) of 7.5 per cent for the month of December.

The BOJ reports that the largest source market of remittance flows to Jamaica for December 2021 was the USA.

Remittances from that nation accounted for 69.4 per cent of total flows, up from 67.1 per cent recorded for December 2020.

Other source countries which contributed a notable share of remittances for the month were the UK at 11.1 per cent, followed by Canada and the Cayman Islands at 9.7 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

Compared to other countries in the region, remittance inflows to Jamaica in the month of December grew by 20.4 per cent, which is lower than that of Guatemala which registered a growth rate of 35.4 per cent for the January to December 2021 period.

Similarly, El Salvador registered growth of 27.0 per cent for the period, the BOJ reported.