KINGSTON, Jamaica— Jamaica’s unemployment rate reached a historic low of 3.5% in October 2024, surpassing the previous record of 3.6% set in July 2024. The new figures were released in the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s (STATIN) October 2024 Labor Force Survey (LFS).
According to STATIN, Jamaica’s total number of unemployed individuals in October 2024 stood at 51,300, with females representing 60.0% of the unemployed population. Among the unemployed, 21,600 were youth aged 15 to 24 years, with 12,000 of them being females, or 55.6% of this group.
The overall female unemployment rate was higher at 4.5%, while the unemployment rate for males was 2.6%. The youth unemployment rate was recorded at 11.0%.
In October 2024, a total of 687,500 individuals were outside the labor force in Jamaica, with more females (417,800) than males (269,700) in this group. Of those outside the labor force, 29,400 individuals, or 4.3%, were classified as part of the potential labor force. This category includes individuals who are seeking employment but not available to work, or available for work but not actively looking for a job.
Additionally, 294,300 young people aged 15 to 24 years were outside the labor force, making up 42.8% of this group.
According to the survey, the total labor force in October 2024 consisted of 1,468,300 individuals, with 789,100 males (53.7%) and 679,200 females (46.3%). STATIN also reported that the overall labor force participation rate stood at 68.1%, with males having a higher participation rate of 74.5% compared to 61.9% for females.
In October 2024, Jamaica’s total number of employed individuals reached 1,417,000, with males making up the majority (768,500 or 54.2%) of the workforce. Of those employed, 22,900 individuals (1.6%) were classified as underemployed, working part-time and seeking additional hours.
The largest occupational group was ‘Services and Sales Workers’, which accounted for 343,400 individuals, or 24.2% of the total employed population. This group also had the highest number of employed females, with 224,600 females compared to 118,800 males.
The second-largest occupation group was ‘Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Workers’ with 201,400 workers, followed by ‘Elementary Occupations’ with 176,200 employed people. The occupation group ‘Craft and Related Trades Workers’ had the largest number of employed males, with 154,200 individuals in this category.
