Labour Force Increased From 36,541 To 36,725
Minister for the Cabinet Office Wayne Furbert released the November 2018 Labour Force Survey Report from the Department of Statistics.
Highlights from the November 2018 Labour Force Survey Report are presented below:
- 1. The labour force increased 0.5% from 36,541 to 36,725.
- 2. The working population rose from 34,625 to 35,083, up by 1.3%.
- 3. The median gross annual income from main job dipped 0.8% from $63,227 to $62,695.
- 4. The unemployment rate slid from 5.2% to 4.5%.
- 5. The unemployment rate for Bermudians fell from 5.5% to 4.8%.
- 6. The unemployment rate for persons under 25 years declined from 18.4% to 7.8%.
- 7. The economically inactive population decreased 0.6% from 17,400 to 17,293.
The Minister notes that the Report contains selected indicators of the labour force. The indicators are compared to the May 2018 Labour Force Survey Report and the 2016 Census of Population and Housing.
The full November 2018 Labour Force Survey Report follows below [PDF here]:
Really not much good news here. Average wage down. Non-working population growing, many, many are underemployed, many businesses have CLOSED since November, students are back in College/Uni in November (vs May) so Unemployment for this age bracket is bound to improve…
Compared to their own dismal performance.
How much has the CS expanded since July 2017?
Ok, for what it’s worth here is my take.
Average income has decreased. Whilst the working population has increased (labour force increased 0.5% from 36,541 to 36,725), the average income has gone down (median gross annual income from main job dipped 0.8% from $63,227 to $62,695). That means that the increase in labour force is at the bottom end. We are not seeing more well-paying jobs, we are seeing an increase in manual labour jobs.
The “economically inactive population decreased 0.6% from 17,400 to 17,293″. Without population data that can mean many things, but based on my personal experience (as a person approaching retirement age), I suspect that means that many retirees have joined my friends (from Whitney Institute) who now live in the US because they cannot afford to retire in Bermuda.
It is very scary how the PLP are spinning figures to make things appear to be fine, but it is very clear they are not and a world of hurt is coming.
It’s remarkable. A true miracle. These highly-reliable figures tell us that between May 2018 and September 2018, despite the economy contracting, and despite retail spiraling downwards, the unemployment rate for under-25′s reduced from 18.4% to 7.8%.
It’s almost unbelievable isn’t it.
If it weren’t for the fact that we have complete unquestioned trust in everything that Wayne Furbert ever says, this would look like a total crock of utter BS.