Jamaica’s unemployment rate for April this year decreased from 6.0 per cent to 4.5 per cent, when compared to the similar period in 2022.

The youth unemployment rate also decreased from 15.5 per cent in April 2022 to 12.2 per cent in April 2023.

According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s Labour Force Survey for April 2023, employment in real estate and other business services grew by 12.1 per cent, while the number in the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles increased by a 5.5 per cent.

Additionally, employment in the accommodation and food service group expanded.

The decline in the unemployment rate for April 2023 was also attributed to a 9.8 per cent increase in the number of workers in the category designated ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’. An eight per cent increase in employment was also recorded in elementary positions.

However, despite an increase in employment for most groups, the number for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries decreased by 4.1 per cents.. Skilled agriculture and fisheries workers also declined by 5.6 per cent.

The number of people outside the labour force, meaning those who are neither employed nor unemployed, also decreased by 2.8 per cent.