Jobless rate rises to 5.4% under revised standards for labour survey

Some 80,700 persons were out of work in January, or about one-third more than three months prior, according to the latest Labour Force Survey, which reflected new standards for tracking jobs in the economy.

The jobless number was up from 57,300 last October.

As a proportion of the nearly 1.49 million labour force, the numbers in the January 2024 survey equate to 5.4 per cent, or higher than the record low in October of 4.2 per cent, but also higher than the July 2023 survey at 4.5 per cent.

The labour force includes all persons usually resident in Jamaica who are 15 years or older and who are either employed or unemployed.

“When broken down by sex, three out of every four men were in the labour force, compared to three out of every five women,” said Leesha Delatie-Budair, deputy director general of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, otherwise called Statin, during a briefing on the jobs picture and June inflation in Kingston on Wednesday.

Females accounted for 61 per cent of the unemployed. The figure flips, however, at the tertiary-trained and managerial levels, with nearly twice as many women working, at 141,000, as men, at some 79,000, according to the survey.

International conventions define employment as any work done during a week for at least an hour.

“This ensures that the smallest unit of labour that goes into producing goods and services is accounted for and allows for international comparability,” according to Statin’s supplementary booklet, Understanding the New Labour Force Survey.

It means that an entertainer who works a set for one hour, whether in Jamaica or elsewhere, counts as employed, Delatie-Budair confirmed to the Financial Gleaner during the briefing.

The labour survey indicated that in January, fewer than 1.0 per cent, or 12,300 persons, were working less than 15 hours per week. Roughly half the labour force work up to 40 hours a week, and the other half work up to 60 hours.

The Labour Force Survey for January implemented new international statistics standards. The new assessment specifically narrows the definition of employment by removing unpaid trainees from the pool, raises the working age from 14 to 15, and added more tiers of employment data to quantify labour underutilisation, coded as LU. It also shifts the time for researchers to enter the field to the first full week in a quarter.

Additionally, the definition of unemployment previously allowed for some discretion but must now satisfy three criteria: jobless, available to work, and actively seeking work.

“In the case of Jamaica, the criteria to be actively seeking a job was not previously used,” according to Statin’s booklet.

“In January 2024, 1.49 million persons were in the labour force. This represents approximately two-thirds of the population age 15 years or older,” said Delatie-Budair.

In January 2024, there were 669,400 individuals who were outside the labour force. This group had a higher representation of females, at 399,200; males accounted for 270,200.

The labour survey now includes “improved data analysis and presentation” for labour underutilisation [See graphic on Page 8]. Specifically, the new survey includes the categorisations: LU1 – the unemployed; LU2 – underemployment; LU3 – the potential labour force; and LU4 – a composite of all three.

The unemployment rate, or EUR, stands at 5.4 per cent, which reflects LU1. However, the EUR grows to 9.4 per cent under LU4, which reflects the summation of the underemployed and unemployed in the potential workforce.

Underemployment reflects persons with insufficient work time.

“They are employed but would like to work more hours,” said Delatie-Budair.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com