October 21, 2021

According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), as at July 2021, there were 1,215,000 employed persons. This was 93,400 or 8.3% more than the number of persons when compared to July 2020. In July 2021, the unemployment rate was 8.5%, which was 4.1 percentage points lower than the rate of 12.6% for July 2020. This decrease was driven mainly by a decline in the male unemployment rate. In July 2021, the unemployment rate for males decreased by 5.2 percentage points to 6.3% and females by 2.9 percentage points to 11.1%. Male employment increased by 55,700 (9.0%) and female by 37,700 (7.5%).

Notably, the number of persons in the Labour Force was 1,327,500 in July 2021, representing an increase of 44,200 (3.4%) compared to 1,283,300 in July 2020. The male labour force increased by 20,700 (2.9%) to 723,200 and the female labour force by 23,500 (4.0%) to 604,300.

There were 1,215,000 persons in the Employed Labour Force in July 2021; 93,400 (8.3%) more persons when compared to 1,121,600 in July 2020. The number of employed males increased by 55,700 (9.0%) to 677,500, accounting for 59.6% of the increase in the employed labour force while the number of employed females increased by 37,700 (7.5%) to 537,500 in July 2021.

STATIN noted that a little over one-half (52.9%) of the increase in the employed labour force were in the occupation groups ‘Elementary Occupations’ and ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’. The number of employed persons in the ‘Elementary Occupations’ group increased by 25,200 (19.3%) from 130,500 in July 2020 to 155,700 in July 2021. The group ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’ increased by 24,200 persons (9.9%), moving to 269,300 in July 2021. The Largest increase were in ‘Construction’, followed by ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’. In July 2021, there were 118,300 employed persons in the industry group ‘Construction’, which increased by 26,100 persons (28.3%) and 115,100 in ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’, an increase of 21,500 persons (23.0%).

The number of unemployed persons stood at 112,500, a 30.4% decrease when compared to July 2020. The number of unemployed males decreased by 35,000 (43.4%) to 45,700 in July 2021. There was a decline of 14,200 (17.5%) in the number of unemployed females to 66,800.

The youth unemployment rate for persons between 14-24 years was 23.9% in July 2021; 6.4 percentage points lower when compared to 30.3% in July 2020. While the number of persons Outside the Labour Force was 767,500 in July 2021, a decrease of 41,800 (5.2%) compared to July 2020.

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