KINGSTON, Jamaica — The country’s unemployment rate fell below 11 per cent in October 2017, returning to levels recorded nearly 10 years ago, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reported today.

The unemployment rate for the period was 10.4 per cent in comparison to the 12.9 per cent in October 2016, STATIN said. The figure is the lowest recorded since October 2008.

Based on the October 2017 statistics, the labour force shrunk people who were employed were mostly paid ‘non-government employees’.

STATIN said the leading employer was the health and social work industry with 54,600 workers — a 28 per cent increase over October 2016. It was also the primary industry among females, who accounted for 26,000 of the number.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing industry, which moved from 49,200 in October 2016 to 54,600 workers in October 2017, recorded the largest increase in male employees (5,400).

Youth unemployment was also down in October 2017. According to the report, the unemployment rate for youth aged 14 – 24 years was 25.4 per cent in October 2017, representing a decrease of 7.0 percentage points when compared with October 2016.

Despite the downward trend in unemployment and the increased employment of female workers, there are still 743, 200 people listed outside the labour force, with females accounting for the vast majority of 438,700, STATIN said.

The labour force as at October 2017 was 1,347,600, representing a 0.5 per cent decrease 

when compared to October 2016.