Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) says the national unemployment rate has dropped to a new low of 3.3 per cent in July 2025, compared to 3.6 per cent in July 2024. 

STATIN, presenting key macroeconomic indicators from the July Q3 Labour Force Survey, revealed that the number of persons unemployed declined by 3,400, while there were 32,100 more employed persons in July 2025 compared to July 2024.

Additionally, 28,700 fewer persons were outside the labour force compared to Q3 2024, with the largest increase in employment in the current survey observed in the ‘Managers’ occupational group. The total number of unemployed individuals was 49,200, a decline of 3,400 (6.5 per cent) compared to July 2024. This decline was largely attributed to the prime working age group, where unemployment fell by 3,400 persons (11.4 per cent) to 26,400. 

STATIN disclosed that the survey was conducted between July and September 2025, with the reference week of July 6 to July 12.

More females being employed

The number of unemployed males stood at 18,900, down by 6,100 (24.4 per cent) relative to the similar quarter of 2024. However, an increase of 2,800 unemployed females tempered the decline in overall unemployment in July 2024. The unemployment rate for males was 2.4 per cent, down from 3.2 per cent, while the rate for females was 4.4 per cent relative to 4.0 per cent in July 2024. The employed labour force totalled 1,441,100 individuals, reflecting an increase of 32,100 persons (2.3 per cent) compared to July 2024. 

The number of employed males increased by 25,400 (3.4 per cent) to 775,600, while the number of employed females grew by 6,800 individuals (1.0 per cent) to 665,500. The employed labour force consisted of 67.6 per cent of individuals in the prime working age group (25 to 54 years) and represented 42.1 per cent of the increase in the employed labour force. 

Youth employment increased by 7.2 per cent or 12,200 individuals. In July 2025, there were 25,400 underemployed persons (working part-time while wanting additional hours), 5,400 fewer persons than in July 2024. 

Higher labour force participation

In July 2025, the labour force comprised 1,490,300 individuals, reflecting an increase of 28,700 persons compared to July 2024. An increase in the male labour force (19,100 or 2.5 per cent) accounted for the majority (66.6 per cent) of this increase. Of the total labour force, 794,400 (53.3 per cent) were males and 695,900 were females. The overall labour force participation rate was 69.1 per cent. Males had a higher participation rate of 75.0 per cent, while females had a rate of 63.4 per cent.

There were fewer persons outside the labour force, driven by a decline among males. In July 2025, there were 665,500 working-class citizens outside the labour force, representing a decline of 28,700 persons (4.1 per cent) compared to 694,200 in July 2024. The decrease was driven primarily by a decline of 19,100 in the number of males outside the labour force to 264,300. 

There were 401,200 females outside the labour force, a decline of 9,600 relative to July 2024. Additionally, the number of persons of prime working age outside the labour force decreased by 8,000 to 152,900. The number of youth outside the labour force was 288,100, declining by 11,700 young people relative to July 2024.