High unemployment among Bahamian youth

NASSAU – A survey has found that the number of young people who are unemployed in the Bahamas continues “to be considerably higher than any other age group” in the country.

The Department of Statistics while it gave no figure for the number of unemployed young people, said nonetheless “there was a noticeable decline in the rate from 30 per cent recorded in November 2015 to 25.8 per cent” this year.

It said that the Labour Force and Household Income Survey, which provides information on the labour force as it existed during the period of April 25 last year to May 1, 2016, notes that since November 2015 the labour force grew by 1.7 per cent.

“However, between May 2015 and May 2016 there was a significant increase of 3.3 per cent in the labour force. The labour force now totals 215,880 persons,” the Department said, adding that among the employed labour force, there were more men than women.

The Department of Statistics said unemployment among youths (15 to 24 years) continued to be considerably higher than any other age group “which is common to most countries.

“Discouraged workers (a person of legal employment age who is not actively seeking employment or who does not find employment after long-term unemployment) in the country declined by 10 per cent over, the  Department said, adding that since November 2015, there was a seven per cent increase of self-employed workers.

The Department noted that 24 per cent of the Labour Force was made up of persons between the ages of 25 to 34 years and 21 per cent of unemployed persons were between the ages of 20 to 24.

The Department said that the “Community, Social and Personal Service” industry, which includes the civil, police and domestic services continued to be the country’s largest employer in 2016 and accounted for 36 per cent of the workforce. (CMC)