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Bahamas Minister of Labour confirms job increases
By Lindsay Thompson, BIS
Jul 25, 2014 - 6:13:29 PM

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NASSAU, The Bahamas - The Department of Statistics 2014 Labour Force Survey has revealed that more than 8,000 jobs have been created as a direct result of the proactive and innovative policies of the Government.

This, the Minister of Labour and National Insurance the Hon Shane Gibson confirmed in a Communication to the House of Assembly on Wednesday, July 23. 2014.

The date, compiled by the staff of the country’s premier authority on data contains “irrefutable evidence” of the success of the policies of the administration led by Prime Minister the Rt Hon Perry Christie, Mr. Gibson said.

The survey was conducted during May 2014 and provides empirical data on the Bahamian Labour Force that covers the period since the last survey, which was carried out in November 2013.

“In just over two years, the survey confirms that more than 8,000 jobs have been created as a direct result of the proactive and innovative policies of the PLP Government,” Mr. Gibson said.

The labour force stands at 197,335 people, up from 188,310 in May of 2010 and supports the fact that there in an increase in the number of employed persons and a decrease in the unemployment rate, which stands at 14.3 percent; lower than it was in May 2012. In November 2013, the unemployment rate was 15.4 percent.

Of particular note, he said, is the significant reduction in the number of discouraged workers, especially on Grand Bahama, where this number has decreased by 60 percent.

“This new spirit of enthusiasm in Grand Bahama is directly related to the focused leadership and the on-going initiatives of the government including the opening of the Memories Resort, the excellent working relationship with the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Hutchison Group and the ongoing consultations with our social partners to improve the economy of The Bahamas,” Mr. Gibson said.

He noted that both New Providence and Grand Bahama have experienced decreases in their unemployment rates, with 15.0 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively.

Discouraged workers in the country fell from 6,765 in November 2013 to 4,880 in May 2014, representing a decrease of 1,905 or 28 percent. Both New Providence and Grand Bahama experienced a decline in the number of discouraged workers from 3,335 to 2,920 down by 475 or 14 percent in the former and from 1,915 to 760 representing a decrease of 1,155 or 60 percent in the latter.

According to Mr. Gibson, the newly instituted National Training Agency; and the Department of Labour have made contributions in reducing the levels of unemployment in the country.

One of the functions of the NTA is to devise strategies and actions that would positively affect the overall employment rate among the youth between the ages of 15-24. According to labour force survey, unemployment among this group is considerably higher than any age group and stands at 28 percent.

The survey also indicated that unemployment among this target group decreased by about four percentage points, decreasing from 32 percent to 28 percent over the six-month period.

“The activities of the National Training Agency had undoubtedly contributed to this decline in unemployment as during this period August to December 2013, the Agency trained over 450 youth and young adults in New Providence and found full time jobs for well over 100 of its trainees.

“The average wage paid to these trainees is between $220 to $260 per week. Annually, this reflects almost two million dollars that would be circulated in the economy,” Mr. Gibson said.

He added that the NTA’s second cohort of 170 New Providence trainees recently completed their prescribed period of training and the first Grand Bahama cohort of over 150 trainees will complete their training in another week, which will bring the number of persons trained by the NTA to over 800 young Bahamians.

Mr. Gibson revealed that over the past months, the ministry has held meetings with and plan to meet with banks, hotels and other businesses all in an effort to ensure the best possible balance is accomplished between the requests for expatriates and the need for more Bahamians to be afforded opportunities for employment.

Shane Gibson House Communication - Labour Force Survey

 

 

 

 


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