Preliminary results from the 2010 Census confirm that the slump in the local economy did impact the labour market last year. The data reveals that labour supply fell last year but the demand for labour fell at a sharper rate, resulting in higher unemployment than in 2009.
“The results on the labour force indicate the need for continued efforts to create economic opportunities that would benefit the workforce,” the Premier and Finance Minister, the Hon. McKeeva Bush, OBE, JP, said.
The Economics and Statistics Office prepared the Preliminary 2010 Labour Force Report ahead of the full report that is to be published with the complete Census Report at the end of this year. The statistics on the labour force were collected as part of the overall census which was conducted in October and November last year.
According to the report, the Islands had a total work force of 35,859 persons in 2010. Of these, 33,463 were employed compared to 33,920 in 2009. Consequently, the number of employed persons fell by 1.3 percent in 2010 while the employment rate fell to 92.3 percent in 2010 from 93 percent in 2009.
On the other hand, there were more unemployed persons in 2010. The unemployed totalled 2,396 in 2010 compared to 2,180 in 2009, resulting in an increase by 9.9 percent. As a result, the unemployment rate for the entire population rose from 6 percent in 2009 to 6.7 percent in 2010.
(The Cayman Islands’ Preliminary 2010 Labour Force Report is available at www.eso.ky.)
(GIS)
For the official Cayman Islands Government web portal, www.gov.ky:
Web title: 2010 Labour Report
Web blurb: The labour force survey preliminary results reveal the economy impacted labour supply and unemployment.
