The Statistical Institute of Jamaica, STATIN, in its quarterly media briefing on Friday, revealed that Jamaica has seen an increase in the inflation rate, though unemployment is now at its lowest ever historical level. Director General of STATIN, Carol Coy, says Jamaica’s economy grew by 6.4% in the first quarter of the year, relative to 2021.
Growth she attributes to both the services and goods producing industries, as the country continues to recover from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Coy however says the inflation rate for June saw an increase of point- 8%, with a point to point inflation for June 2021- June 2022 at 10.9%. She says Jamaica’s total spending on imports increased by 38.7% for the first quarter of 2022, with a value of 1.8 million us dollars. The director general went further to expound on the findings for the April 2022 labour force survey.
Meanwhile, she says the unemployment rate for April 2022 fell to 6%, three percentage points lower than in April last year.
Reporter: Justine Graham
