Jobs Increase with Women Flowing into Services

The latest jobs numbers show women flowing towards the services sector including health and social jobs in larger numbers than men.

It resulted in chopping the Jamaican unemployment rate to lower levels  than a year ago, official statistics indicate.

“The unemployment rate increased for men but decreased for women,” according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) in its jobs data released in late November 2016.

The unemployment rate for July 2016 was 12.9 per cent, which was a 0.2 percentage point decrease compared to the rate of 13.1 per cent in July 2015. The unemployment rate for males increased from 9.3 per cent to 9.5 per cent and the female unemployment rate decreased from 17.7 per cent to 16.9 per cent.

In real terms, it meant that the number of employed totaled 1.19 million in July 2016 which was 39,400 more than the 1.15 million recorded in July 2015.

The industry group ‘Wholesale & Retail, Repair of Motor Vehicle & Equipment’ had the largest gain up 13,300 in employment moving from 220,200 in July 2015 to 233,500 in July 2016, said STATIN. For the same period the industry group ‘Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry & Fishing’ had the largest decline by 14,000, moving from 205,200 to 191,200. The industry group ‘Construction’ had the largest increase in the number of males up 10,200 and the groups ‘Manufacturing’ up 7,100 and ‘Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities’ increased by 7,100 and accounted for the largest increase in the number of females in the period.