Unemployment inches up says SIB

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By BBN Staff: Unemployment rose from 8 percent in April 2016, to 9 percent in 2017, according to the latest Labour Force Survey, released by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB).

The data showed that there were over 2000 more unemployed people than there were last year, moving the unemployed population from 12,730 in April of last year to 14,823.

The SIB said that the figure was an indication that, “there were more persons entering the workforce than there were available jobs.”

The institute said that women had twice as much difficulty getting a job than men, pointing out that of  the newly unemployed population, 1,346 were females while only 747 were males. 

“This is particularly noteworthy, as men outnumber women in the labour force by two to one,” the SIB added.

 The data showed that Belize City had the highest increase in jobless persons, which accounted for more than 1,200 of the total figure. Corozal was the second highest, accounting for over 600 of the total unemployed persons. Cayo was the only district that saw a decline in unemployment.

 Unemployment in the country’s rural areas rose by 1.7 percentage points, from 7.6 percent in April 2016 to 9.3 percent in April 2017, while the rate in the urban areas increased only slightly.

 The SIB said that the majority of the unemployed reported that they were interested in jobs in services and sales. In 2016, unemployment was at the lowest it had been in Belize for over a decade. 

 

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