Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s unemployment rate has declined to 3.3 per cent in April based on the findings of the April 2025 Labour Force Survey, which compared current labour market conditions with the same period in 2024.

The survey, which was released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), shows unemployment in April 2025 falling significantly, as the number of unemployed persons declined by 12,800 (20.4 per cent) to 50,000. Male unemployment fell by 25.1% to 19,700, while female unemployment declined by 17.0 per cent to 30,300. 

Youth unemployment also decreased sharply, falling by 33.3 per cent to 19,600 individuals, with male youth unemployment dropping by over 40 per cent. The male unemployment rate was 2.5 per cent, while the female rate stood at 4.3 per cent. 

The survey, conducted between April and June 2025 with a reference week of April 6–12, revealed several improvements in employment and reductions in unemployment and labour underutilization, reflecting a stronger and more engaged workforce.

The April 2025 Labour Force Survey reflects continued strengthening of Jamaica’s labour market with rising employment, falling unemployment, and reduced labour underutilisation, particularly among women and youth. The data also indicates ongoing positive shifts in sectoral and occupational employment patterns, highlighting resilience and growth within the economy.

Moderate rise in employment in April 2025

Employment in April 2025 reached 1,444,500 persons, a rise of 24,200 or 1.7 per cent in comparison to April 2024. Female employment grew more than twice as fast as male employment, with 16,800 additional employed women compared to 7,300 men. 

Most of the employment increase came from the prime working-age group (25–54 years), accounting for nearly half of the overall gain. Services and sales workers remain the largest occupational group with 346,000 employed persons, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 21,200. This occupational group also recorded the largest increase in both male and female employment. 

Other notable growth was observed in the “Professionals” category, which rose by 7,000 persons, primarily among males. By industry, the largest employment increase was recorded in public administration and defence and compulsory social security, which grew by 8,000 persons or 12.6 per cent to reach 71,500 employees. 

This was followed by ‘Accommodation and Food Service Activities’, which added 7,600 jobs, primarily among women. The ‘Real Estate and Other Business Services’ industry posted the highest increase in male employment, with 5,700 more jobs compared to April 2024.

Jamaican labour force in focus

The total labour force in April 2025 stood at 1,494,400 persons, an increase of 11,300 compared to April 2024. This growth was driven almost entirely by women, who accounted for 93.8 per cent of the net gain. 

Of the total labour force, 789,200 were males and 705,200 were females. 

Despite the increase in absolute numbers, the overall labour force participation rate declined slightly to 69.3 per cent, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. Participation rates remained higher for males (74.5 per cent) than for females (64.3 per cent).

Labour underutilization also showed improvement. The number of underemployed persons—those who work part-time but wish to work more—fell by 2,500 to 22,300. The decline in both unemployment and underemployment suggests that all three labour underutilisation indicators have improved over the past year.

The number of persons outside the labour force was 661,400 in April 2025, a decline of 11,300 compared to April 2024. This decrease was primarily driven by females, whose numbers outside the labour force dropped by 10,700 to 391,800. 

The number of prime working-age individuals outside the labour force also declined by 7,600. Meanwhile, 295,500 youth remained outside the labour force.