UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DECLINES

By Staff Writer

According to estimates from The Cayman Islands Labour Force Survey (LFS) Spring 2023 Report, the total labour force increased by 7.9% in the past year to include 58,669 people as of June 2023.

With 1,404 people being counted as unemployed, the overall unemployment rate dropped to 2.4% from 3.0% in June 2022.

The number of unemployed Caymanians declined by 316 to a total of 842 individuals, resulting in a Caymanian unemployment rate of 3.7% compared to 5.1% for the same period in 2022.

Meanwhile, the LFS report estimates that the overall Cayman Islands population grew by 6.5% above the June 2022 figure to reach 83,671.

Broken down by immigration status, the Caymanian population rose by 1.3% to 38,926; the Permanent Resident population decreased to 6,433 from 6,756 in June 2022; and the Non-Caymanian population is estimated to have increased by 14.8% to reach 38,312.

Caymanians made up the largest proportion of the overall population, accounting for 46.5 per cent of the population, while Non-Caymanians and Permanent Residents had a population share of 45.8 and 7.7 per cent, respectively.

A review of the labour force distribution by immigration status showed that 38.3 per cent of the Islands’ workers were Caymanians, 54.8 per cent were Non-Caymanians, and 6.9 per cent were Permanent Residents with the right to work.

Males outnumbered females among the employed, with a count of 30,394 compared to

26,872, representing percentage shares of 53.1 and 46.9, respectively. Most workers fell between the ages of 25 to 54 years, accounting for 78.9 per cent of the total. In contrast, individuals aged 15 to 24 years and those 65 years and older comprised 4.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively, of the employed labour force.

The top five occupations, collectively accounting for 79.5 per cent of total employment, were professionals (19.8%); service and sales workers (19.1%); craft and related trades workers (15.3%); elementary occupations (12.9%); and technicians and associate professionals (12.3%).

The top six industries accounted for 57.0 per cent of the employed labour force. They were as follows: construction (14.6%); wholesale and retail trade (10.9%); professional, scientific, and technical activities (9.5%); financial and insurance activities (7.5%); administrative and support service activities (7.3%); and accommodation (7.2%).

Approximately 63.9 per cent of employed individuals earned CI$2,400 or more per month. The proportion was higher among employed males (69.1%) than employed females (58.0%). While a higher proportion of Caymanians (74.4%) earned CI$2,400 or more per month compared to Permanent Residents WRW (68.3%) and non-Caymanians (56.2%).

“The results of the Spring 2023 Labour Force Survey are in line with other indicators showing an economy rebounding strongly from the suppressive effects of the pandemic with an expanded job market, increased demand for labour, and significant recovery in the tourism and construction industries,” Hon. Premier and Minister for Finance & Economic Development, Wayne Panton, said in a statement.