PUBLIC Service and Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle.
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS
Tribune Staff Reporter
lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
LABOUR Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the number of discouraged workers in the country is “too high” and expressed government’s intent to bring them back into the workforce.
Her comments came after the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) released the labour force results for the first and second quarters of 2024, showing an unemployment rate of 8.7 percent.
Discouraged workers — those available for work, but not actively seeking employment due to a perceived lack of opportunities — were recorded at 10,800 in the first quarter and rose to 12,940 in the second quarter.
“We note that the rate for discouraged workers remains too high and we want to bring them back into the workforce,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said in the House of Assembly yesterday. “We also want to continue to bring the unemployment rate lower. Both of these goals can only be accomplished through training and education to enhance the employability of segments of our population that are currently unemployable.”
She added that expansion through the National Training Agency, the upcoming National Apprenticeship Programme, partnerships with local institutions like BTVI and UB, and international collaborations through the Charlotte Knowles-Thompson Scholarship Agency will support professional, soft skills, and workforce readiness programmes to improve employability.
She credited the Davis administration’s efforts with the 1.2 percentage point decrease in unemployment from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first and second quarters of 2024.
Comments
bahamianson 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Bring them back where? Nib has 1 million employees with a lot of benefits. We need 20 nib employees , yet 1 million work there. We have no jobs for our over populated country. Our people are unemployable , cant read , write ,add or use deductive reasoning. But the solution is , always have children . We are in a terrible state.
DWW 1 month, 3 weeks ago
but it helps to hide the real unemployment numbers in the cuntree. it is a good thing to say unemployment is artificially down to 8.7% when the reality is more like double that at 16%.
ExposedU2C 1 month, 3 weeks ago
More like 23%.
ThisIsOurs 1 month, 3 weeks ago
No numbers on underemployment. The Bahsmas has an NA next to its name on the global boards. I don't know if that means not available or not applicable because everybody needs to learn to do less with less... unless you need a 1.5 million dollar elevator, 200,000 dollar car or 2.5million dollar plane.
Between discouraged workers and underemployment it's better than zero activity COVID but not a pretty picture
sheeprunner12 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Unemployment, underemployment and discouraged workers are never going to be accurately recorded or stated by a Third World government.
PLP & FNM governments think that the solution is to HIRE more civil servants to reduce unemployment. That is the exact opposite way to grow an economy. But it's their political policy to create more DEPENDENT supporters for votes at the polls.
That is why the country cannot develop any further and the socioeconomic situation is getting worse by the day.
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