As the country enjoys historically low unemployment rates, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, encourages Jamaicans to save a portion of their income and embrace fiscal prudence.

Jamaica’s unemployment rate has stood at a record low 3.5 per cent as of October 2024.

This represents a decrease from the previous record of 3.6 per cent in July 2024, based on the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) Labour Force Surveys for both months, showcasing a positive trend in job creation and economic stability.

Holness noted that employment is empowering Jamaicans with income and encouraged them to save and build wealth.

“I take this opportunity to say to all Jamaicans who are now employed… regardless of how you may feel dissatisfied about your income, you are one step further to prosperity by having income. The challenge is what you actually do with it. You’re always going to be faced with the priority to consume, to use all of your income. But I learnt from my mother, a civil servant with a small income, that a major priority was
saving.

“You’re not going to build wealth without savings. Saving is a sacrifice. You’re sacrificing current consumption. So this statement is also true, we will not build wealth without sacrifice. So I appeal to all the young people getting jobs, all the people who are currently working… make your savings compulsory,” Dr. Holness said.

He was addressing the official launch of Infiniti Cooperative Credit Union Limited at AC Hotel by Marriott Kingston recently.

Infiniti is a merger of EduCom Cooperative Credit Union Limited and Gateway Cooperative Credit Union Limited.

Holness said this approach of compulsory saving is used in the management of the economy.

“No matter what it is, and I saw my mother doing that, that has always been my principle as well. That’s how we have run the economy of the country, with this kind of fiscal prudence, that you have to put aside something to create fiscal buffers,” he stated.

Prime Minister Holness emphasised the importance of acknowledging that “anything can happen”, with preparedness and resilience.

“But if nothing happens, you have this fiscal buffer that you can also use positively for capital development. So what is good for the economy is also good for the household economy, and the credit unions play a critical part in that, where you can put your savings and then have that savings leveraged,” he said.