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Labour Force Press Release January 2012 Click to Print This Page

May 9, 2012

The main findings of the January 2012 Labour Force Survey which was conducted by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) are presented below. The reference week for this survey was December 18-24, 2011.

  • Total Labour Force in January 2012 was 1,260,600 persons comprising 686,900 males and 573,700 females. This was a decline of 9,300 (0.7%) when compared with 1,269,900 persons in January 2011.
  • There were 1,083,400 persons Employed in January 2012, of which 614,800 were males and 468,600 females. This represents a decline of 23,100 persons (2.1%) from the 1,106,500 who were employed in January 2011. When compared to the previous quarter (October 2011) employment decreased by 5,500 persons (0.5%).
  • Employment in the Construction industry group decreased by 10,900 persons (12.5%) between January 2011 and January 2012. During the same period employment in Health & Social Work increased by 3,500 persons.
  • The Occupation group Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers had increased employment of 1,200 (1.9%) persons between January 2011 and January 2012. Professionals, Senior Officials and Technicians declined by 10,200 or (4.4%) during the same period.
  • The number of unemployed persons increased by 13,700 (8.3%) between January 2011 and January 2012; moving from 163,500 to 177,200.
  • The unemployment rate for January 2012 was 14.1 per cent. For males it was 10.5 per cent and for females it was 18.3 per cent.  In January 2011 the rate was 12.9 for both sexes, 9.5 for males and 16.8 per cent for females.
  • The unemployment rate among youths (14 – 24 years) increased between January 2011 and January 2012, moving from 30.5 per cent to 33.7 per cent, an increase of 3.2 percentage points.
  • During the period January 2011 to January 2012, the number of persons outside the labour force increased by 11,800 (1.6 %), moving from 737,000 to 748,800 persons.
  • The number of persons seeking jobs in the January 2012 survey, increased by 4.3 per cent moving from 101,400 in January 2011 to 106,000.
The January 2012 Labour Force outlines additional information and may be obtained at our Distribution Office, 7 Cecelio Avenue Kingston 10.
Last Updated: May 17, 2012
© 2012 Statistical Institute of Jamaica