More people find jobs

The unemployment rate in Barbados fell to 12.4 per cent up to the end of September last year, helped by increased hires in the accommodation and food services sector.

The unemployment rate for males declined to reach 12.5 per cent and the rate for females also fell to 12.3 per cent during the third quarter, the period under review.

The steady decline in the unemployment rate shows a shift from a high of 17.2 per cent recorded by the end of March and the 15.9 per cent by the end of June last year.

The latest Continuous Household Labour Force Survey by the Barbados Statistical Service (BSS) showed that the number of people considered unemployed as at September 2021 totalled 16,800, a reduction of about 5,000 from the previous quarter.

The number of people employed reached 118,400, up from the 114,400 people employed by the end of June.

However, the total labour force is estimated to be 135,200 people at the end of September, less than the 136,100 at the end of June. The labour participation rate for the July to September period was estimated at 62.3 per cent.

The labour force is defined as “all persons, age 15 years and over, who live in the island and were engaged in, or willing and able to be engaged in, the production of economic goods and services”. Those people not willing and able to engage were therefore not counted as part of the labour force during the third quarter survey.

Some 38 per cent of the adult population was considered not in the labour force during the third quarter survey.

Wholesale and retail continue to be the dominant industry for employment, with 16,900, followed by accommodation and food services which account for 13,300. Public administration and defence accounted for 12,100 and construction, mining and quarrying 10,400.

However, it was the accommodation and food services sector that saw the biggest jump in employment for the quarter, increasing by some 1,900 people to reach 13,300 at the end of September.

This was followed by wholesale and retail trade, which recorded an increase of some 1,500 people to reach 16,900 during the review period. The human health and social work industry also showed a noticeable increase in employment, recording some 7,200 people at the end of September, compared to 5,800 at the end of June.

Meanwhile, manufacturing saw a slight decline in employment during the review period, registering some 6,800 employed compared to around 7,700 during the April to June period.

The statistics show that the majority of people out of work have been looking for employment between three months to a year.

During the review period, there were 25,600 government employees, 71,200 private sector employees, 21,100 self employed individuals, 400 employers and about 100 apprentices. (MM)