The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The government’s top labour official yesterday said 2,600 persons have claimed unemployment benefits due to Hurricane Dorian but that number has tapered off since year-end.

John Pinder, pictured, director of labour, speaking to Tribune Business after the prime minister confirmed that an extra $11.4m is being allocated to persons left jobless as a result of the storm, said the number of Abaco and Grand Bahama residents seeking such assistance is dwindling.

“They are not coming in mass numbers any more,” he said. “There were about 2,600 persons in total, and we haven’t seen any added to that number since that closed-off at the end of the year.

“Once they get an unemployment certificate, they continue to get unemployment benefits until they find employment, and that is normally for 13 weeks. The government is now extending that an additional 13 weeks to 26 weeks.”

Dr Hubert Minnis, in his presentation to Parliament on Monday, said: “My government also ensured that hurricane victims were able to access cash resources to begin restoring their lives.

“One of the ways we accomplished this objective was by facilitating the expansion of the National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefit from 13 to 26 weeks.... The government’s allocation of an additional $11.4m toward this initiative means that eligible victims who lost their jobs as a result of the hurricane can continue to receive financial support for a longer period.”

Mr Pinder, however, reiterated that the number of Dorian victims claiming unemployment benefits has decreased since last year. He said: “There was an approximate 2,600 persons that registered for the unemployment benefit through the Labour Department.”