The Barbados government will officially launch a new national survey next month aimed at gathering detailed data on wages, working hours and employment conditions across the country.
The Ministry of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector announced that the Survey of Employment, Earnings and Hours (SEEH) will begin on Monday, June 1.
The survey is being conducted on behalf of the Minimum Wage Board with support from the Barbados Statistical Service and the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to the ministry, the initiative is intended to provide high-quality employer-sourced wage data that will help policymakers, social partners and the public better understand earnings patterns across industries, occupations, company sizes and worker demographics, including gender-based pay differences.
Officials said the SEEH will restore Barbados’ ability to produce detailed job-level data on employee compensation, hours worked and earnings structures across key sectors of the economy.
The government also plans to make the survey a permanent part of the country’s statistical framework, with the exercise to be conducted annually.
Authorities described the survey as an important part of government’s effort to develop fair, transparent and evidence-based wage policies.
Selected businesses across Barbados will be contacted by representatives from the Ministry of Labour and authorised personnel from the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management to participate in the exercise.
Participation is mandatory under the Statistics Act, Cap. 192.
Employers selected for the survey will be required to provide information on the number of workers on their payroll, hours worked and several components of employee compensation, including basic wages, overtime payments, allowances and bonuses.
The ministry stressed that no individual employee names or national identification numbers will be collected and assured businesses that all information submitted will remain strictly confidential.
Officials said the data will not be shared with tax authorities, the National Insurance Scheme or any other regulatory body.
Businesses will receive an online link to complete the survey and are expected to submit responses within 14 working days. Employers requiring additional assistance will have the option of receiving in-person support from authorised enumerators.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, June 22, while preliminary findings are expected to be presented to the Minimum Wage Board on Friday, August 28.
Employers have also been encouraged to designate an officer to complete the survey and prepare payroll records covering the reporting periods June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, and June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.
The ministry noted that Barbados has not conducted a comprehensive establishment-based earnings survey since May 2018, leaving the country dependent on broader household surveys that do not provide the level of detailed wage information required for modern labour policy planning.
Officials said the SEEH is expected to help close that gap.
