Job placements through Electronic Labour Exchange see 40.7 per cent increase

The number of job placements facilitated locally through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) grew by 40.7 per cent to 1,397 in 2023, compared with the previous year.

Details of this out-turn are contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2023.

The findings indicate that placements for males and females grew during the review period relative to 2022.

Female placements rose by 48.4 per cent to 1,058, while the male equivalent climbed by 21.1 per cent to 339.

“Similar to the previous year, female placements exceeded those of males, constituting 75.7 per cent of total placements,” the document outlined.

It further indicated that the labour ministry’s Kingston Administrative Region registered the highest share of overall placements, totalling 71.4 per cent.

“Placements increased in Kingston by 632 to 997, and Manchester by 45 to 92. The growth in placements in the Kingston Administrative Region can be attributed to an increase in the number of job fairs conducted by the [ministry] in the region. Conversely, there was a reduction in placements in the St James region by 50.4 per cent to 225, as well as the St Ann region, which decreased by 34.6 per cent to 83,” the survey stated.

The ELE is a job-matching component of the Labour Market Information System (LMIS).

The LMIS also includes the Labour Market Intelligence component, which provides information on general and sectoral research.

It serves as a database for labour market information from a variety of sources and the skills bank, which is a repository of available skills in the country that serves to inform employers, investors and policymakers.-JIS