Barbados’ employment rate has fallen to a record low 6.1 per cent, as more people find work in the construction sector in particular.
With major infrastructure projects continuing, Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge is not concerned that construction will run out of steam to the extent that the jobless rate will be significantly impacted.
However, he said he believes the limited supply of labour could lead to price increases for some construction services, and is welcoming any extra “bodies” full freedom of movement in CARICOM can provide.
The Governor was speaking yesterday during his third-quarter press conference at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Tom Adam Financial Centre in The City.
The Central Bank’s January to September economic review stated that “hiring gains and sustained economic activity lowered unemployment to a record low” at the end of June, the most recent period for which labour force data was available from the Barbados Statistical Service.
“The unemployment rate fell to 6.1 per cent at end-June, the lowest on record, and marked a fifth consecutive quarterly decline. Agriculture, utilities, tourism, construction, transportation and storage, and finance and other business services drove the improvement,” Greenidge said.
“Jobless claims rose 3.2 per cent in January to September but remained below the historical average. The inactive adult population declined by 800 persons as fewer individuals retired or stayed in school.”
Central Bank analysis titled Labour Market Developments during 2025 attributed
most of the employment gains to construction activity. The unemployment rate in that sector was 5.6 per cent at the end of June.
This was the lowest on record, “reflecting strong private projects and public infrastructure works”.
Greenidge said he was not worried about the heavy reliance on construction for employment opportunities.
“I see the other sectors building up as we move forward. What I think is the constraint right now is dealing with the bottleneck that that lower employment gives in terms of not having enough bodies to do the work,” he said.
“When you construct a hotel . . . there is a redistribution of labour eventually. I think what we have to deal with is the supply constraint on labour itself which, if not dealt with, can cause costs to increase.”
In this regard, he welcomed the full free movement of labour regime in CARICOM, started on October 1 with Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“At the end of the day you need bodies and, therefore, if you have no way, with an unemployment rate so low, of increasing the number of bodies that do the work, then you are constrained to a lower GDP growth rate. That’s economics. So we need to engage the idea of persons coming in to help lift our labour [supply],” he said. (SC)
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