April 14, 2020
Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) noted, “Total value added for the Jamaican economy was $197,013 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. This remained relatively unchanged when compared to $197,086 million for the similar quarter of 2018.” This was attributable to growth in the Services Industries of 1.2%, however tempered by the 3.7% decline in the Goods Producing Industries.
The Goods Producing Industries’ decline was due to decreases in Mining & Quarrying (-40.4%) and Construction industries (-1.9%). Nonetheless, Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing rose by 3.9% and Manufacturing by 0.4%. Moreover, STATIN noted that, “the decline in the Mining & Quarrying industry was due to lower production of alumina and bauxite resulting from the closure of the JISCO Alpart refinery. The decrease in output for the Construction industry was mainly due to a reduction in the civil engineering sub-group.” On the other hand, STATIN highlighted, that the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing industry’s performance was attributed to favourable weather conditions. Furthermore, higher output in the Manufacturing industry was due to an, “increase in the Food, Beverages & Tobacco sub-industry of 1.8%, largely due to increased production of grain mill products, dairy products, bakery products, sugar & molasses and beverages. However, the Other Manufacturing sub-industry declined by 1.2% influenced mainly by lower production levels of petroleum products and nonmetallic minerals.”
With respect to the Services Industry, all industries grew. Electricity and Water Supply recorded a 2.8% increase, while Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repairs; Installation of Machinery & Equipment (0.7 %); Hotels & Restaurants (3.7 %), Transport, Storage & Communication (0.5%), Finance & Insurance Services (3.3 %), Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities (0.7%), Producers of Government Services (0.2%) and Other Services (1.4%).
When compared to the previous year, the economy grew by 0.9% for the calendar year 2019 due to 1.4% growth in the Services Industries versus decline by 0.6% in the Goods Producing Industries.
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