(CMR) With a recent report from the country's statistical institute showcasing a shrink in the labour force and the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) frequently intervening in the foreign exchange market, there is evidence to suggest that the island's fragile economy may be in trouble.
Most recently data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) and the Labour Force Survey (LFS) revealed that the labour force had shrunk by 6% when compared to a similar period last year.
The data from both entities revealed that unemployment had increased, with more females out of work than males .
Another key finding was that approximately 57 per cent of households indicated they had experienced some reduction in their income between March and September 2020, highlighting that the more stringent measures taken to curtail the virus during, resulted in reduced economic activity.
The greatest fall off in economic activity, particularly in terms of employment, is as a direct result of the tourism sector.
The tourism sector's decline has had a ripple effect on the economy, leading to a shortage in foreign exchange.
In October alone the BOJ had to intervene in the foreign exchange market at least four times.
The BOJ's latest intervention saw the central bank inject $15 million USD to authorized cambios and dealers on Monday (October 26).
Central bank governor Richard Byles has said the frequent interventions were unsustainable, warning that continuing in such a way would quite significantly reduce the country’s non-borrowed reserves.
The BOJ’s latest intervention means that the central bank would have injected close to $75 million USD into the market since the start of October.
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