Local jobless rate falls to 4.6%

| 28/05/2019 | 35 Comments

Cayman News Services(CNS): The latest Labour Force Survey indicates that the unemployment rate among Caymanian workers has fallen to a new low of 4.6%, or 996 people. According to the Economics and Statistics Office, the overall jobless rate was down to just 2.8% in the autumn of 2018, the lowest for the Cayman Islands since 2006, when it was 2.6%. This newest assessment of the labour market also reveals that the workforce grew by 7.5% to reach 46,178 people, with 44,887 in jobs, an increase of 9.9% compared to the previous autumn results in 2017.

The ESO found that there are an estimated 20,751 Caymanians in work but the unemployment rate among permanent residents (PR) with rights to work went up from 4.4% to 4.7%.

Among other notable statistics in the labour report was an increase in the population, which was estimated at the end of December 2018 to have grown by 3.8% from the previous year to 65,813 people. The Caymanian population rose by 2.3% to 36,705, while there are now almost 6,000 people with permanent residency compared to less than 5,500 last year.

The Caymanian population is now estimated at 36,705, leaving 23,168 non-locals living on the islands. Just over half (51.6%) of the population is female after the number of women increased 8.8% compared to the 2017 figure.

More women are now in work as the labour force gender divide is split almost equally, with 23,056 men (49.9% of the workforce) and 23,122 women (or 50.1%). But women face more under-employment than men, with 397 men reporting they are underemployed while 537 women were not working as much as they want or need to.

Unemployment remains slightly higher among men, accounting for 50.7% of the entire jobless group of locals and non-Caymanians.

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Comments (35)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    US unemployment in April 2019 was 3.6%, lowest since 1969. Cayman is doing very well the relatively limited job market on a tiny island.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    unemployed caymanians choose not to work.end of story.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Hey Aldart…this is from the guests who thanks to you are now the entitled in Cayman. Hope you received a lot for giving away the future of every young Caymanian.

  3. Anonymous says:

    If the issuance of _work permits_ causes unemployment, then I say let’s revoke the highest paying work permits, such as Doctors, Specialists and Nurses.

    The free up those jobs so the unemployed Caymanians can not only get jobs, but high paying ones as well!

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    • Anonymous says:

      And who might you suggest, will fill these positions? Qualified Caymanians? lmao This just has to be sarcasm, as no Caymanian can actually be this oblivious.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Unemployment at PR/Status holders have gone up as I get more and more emails from staff at management level indicating that they have left the island but still employed by the Cayman company but working from home in US/Europe/Canada. Therefore the mgmnt jobs are not available for those living in Cayman. Has immigration looked into this? Do they care?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Um, Cayman doesn’t get to say who is employed by whom in other countries.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Ummmm Immigration does have a say in who Cayman companies employ. And if this is a loophole they need to be proactive and fix it. Otherwise all the higher paying jobs will never be available for Caymanians or long term residents. How is someone who is not here supposed to train a Caymanian to take over the management role?

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        • Anonymous says:

          Nice theory but applying Cayman immigration/work permit laws to companies’ operations in the US or EU would obviously be illegal there in numerous ways, so Cayman companies would not be able to operate legally in those places. If you think that’s a fine idea, it’s ok by us non-Caymanians.

          • Anonymous says:

            Did you read the comment? Or are you just trying to spread your anti-Cayman agenda?

            The comment clearly said still working for the Cayman company. Nowhere is there any mention of multi-national company. Or working for an associated US or EU company.

            CNS – maybe Auntie should look into the immigration issues around this comment.

            CNS: Good idea. I’ve forwarded it to Auntie to see if she can get a definitive answer.

  5. anon says:

    The reason for the new low is that more of the unemployed are now “employed” at Northward.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Either I misread, or the numbers don’t add up: 65,813 total residents – 36,705 Caymanians = 29,108 locals, not 23,168. Perhaps the difference is Permanent Residents with the right to work (listed above as nearly 6,000)?

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    • Anonymous says:

      The numbers do not add up, and we pay millions for them.

    • Anonymous says:

      You did not misread. The numbers are crap and make no sense and the government is not willing or able to tell you the truth. Not willing, likely through dishonesty. Not able, likely through incompetence.

      As usual, no accountability.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    CNS

    We know there are 27,000 people here on Work Permits.
    Add 6,000 Permanent Residents = 33,000. Add 37,605 Caymanians = 70,605
    Add foreign dependents (including children) and the number is above 75,000.

    Why is the ESO reporting that 65,805 people live here? If they are as far off the real numbers as they seem, how can we trust the unemployment statistics (or anything else?).

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  8. Anonymous says:

    No place like Cayman!

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Too many foreigners on permits! Bring back the rollover or limit permits so Caymanians and RERC holders can get work!

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  10. Anon says:

    How many are new Caymanians? Of course the percentage goes down every time we give away status. Our people still shut out of the market by rich who hire their own and poor who undercut locals.

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    • Anonymous says:

      That would be true, except that the number of unemployed went down, not just the percentage, Have a look at the eso.ky website, the total number of Caymanians unemployed went down from 1,515 to 996 (2017/2018). The numbers also show that the number of Caymanians in work went up by 1,492, which I guess is new starters in the workforce and some unemployed getting back to work.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I tried to reply earlier, so apologies if this gets double posted, I think my inclusion of a link got it parked. Your logic isn’t flawed, just the results. Looking at the eso website Unemployed Caymanians went down from 1,515 to 996, 2017 vs 2018 and those in work grew by 1,492, this means 520 people previously unemployed are now working (or were in 2018 vs 2017). It also means the Caymanian pool of employed went up by an additional 972, which I guess is new entrants into the job market and those getting status moving from the PR bucket to the Caymanian bucket. So in short the percentage went down, the pool of employed went up, and the unemployed went down.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    How many under employed Aldart the Destroyer?

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  12. Anonymous says:

    1000 people. That is a problem you have enough money to deal with.

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    • Anonymous says:

      997 of them have no interest in working.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Go home…you’re really not wanted.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Someone hates the truth bomb.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Why are unemployed non-Caymanians even counted?

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        • Anonymous says:

          In every society there are people who don’t really want to work. Stop believing your lazy friends and relatives. That’s called enabling.

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        • Anonymous says:

          There is also such a thing as transitory unemployment. If you take a snapshot of the labor market at any point in time, you will have a certain number of people who are in between jobs. These people typically don’t remain without a job very long and are just in between gigs. I’m drawing in from memory but can be around 1% of labor market if memory serves.

          Also, both the UK and US have a unemployment of around 3.8% – which excludes any who have given up on finding a job.

      • kbb says:

        I disagree with your comment to a certain degree. I personally know people who have tried for years to find employment. Qualified people with experience, as well as, people qualified withdegrees but not experience…there is some truth that some do not want to work but there is the other truth that Cayman is not for its people of the soil….

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      • Anonymous says:

        And a high number of that 997 are “new Caymanian” housewives who don’t have to work because their new Caymanian husbands are killing it with fat salaries and business opportunities. So, some of them have no interest in working (as you’re proudly boasting @5:50pm) but not all 997. Try again.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Spending millions on culling green iguanas, priceless.

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