Column: Famous On Demographic Change
[Column written by MP Chris Famous]
Any jurisdiction with a population similar to Bermuda’s and a growing economy is facing many of the same demographic challenges we are experiencing today:
- Aging populations
- Low birth rates
- Housing affordability pressures
- Fewer young people entering technical trades and the hospitality industry
On one hand, it is a positive development that people are living longer. However, countries must adapt to support this reality by providing more senior-focused housing, healthcare services, and pension support. The challenge is that if a growing number of seniors are no longer participating in the workforce, who will continue contributing to the pension and healthcare systems that support them?
The answer has traditionally been younger generations. Yet if a country is not producing enough young people to fill available jobs, who will do the work needed to keep the economy functioning? Increasingly, the answer is imported labour.
Consider Bermuda’s own experience. In 2007, Bermuda had approximately 18,000 guest workers. In 2026, that number stands at roughly 10,000. In reality, we have only about 50 to 60 percent of the guest worker population that existed nearly 20 years ago.
This is why the claim that Bermuda is suddenly being inundated with foreign workers does not actually align with the numbers.
What has changed is not the overall volume of guest workers. What has changed is which regions our guest workers come from. Why has this happened?
Countries with high birth rates will continue to supply the labour needs of Bermuda and the region
Many of our guest workers used to originate from the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States and Canada, and even parts of the Caribbean. They too are now facing the same demographic challenges we are. They too are dealing with aging populations, low birth rates, and shortages of young people willing to enter medical, technical trades and hospitality careers.
As a result, those countries are also competing internationally for skilled labour.
The regions with stronger population growth today are increasingly found in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific. Many countries in these regions continue to maintain birth rates above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. They also have large numbers of young people pursuing medical, technical and vocational professions.
The reality for Bermuda is that the number of guest workers has not dramatically increased over the past two decades. What has changed is the demographic makeup of that workforce.
This is not a uniquely Bermudian phenomenon. It is part of a broader global shift in labour markets, driven by demographic change. Countries with aging populations and low birth rates increasingly find themselves in the exact same position as us.
- Chris Famous, MP for Constituency #11, Devonshire East
“Consider Bermuda’s own experience. In 2007, Bermuda had approximately 18,000 guest workers. In 2026, that number stands at roughly 10,000. In reality, we have only about 50 to 60 percent of the guest worker population that existed nearly 20 years ago.”
Thank you for acknowledging that reality.
Now I will repeat that which I have said before. The 2007-2008 exodus was not due to any recession, it was due to the hostility shown to guest workers by the PLP Government of the day. Restrictions on the acquisition of property were tightened to the extent that some Bermudians had to go to court to get a declaration that they were entitled to sell their property to a non-Bermudian no matter what the PLP Government said, taxes were raised to the extent that 5,000 or more high earing ex pats packed up their families and support staff and left. The list goes on.
The PLP Government drove those people away and you cannot now brush that hostility off by blaming demographic trends in other places.
The truth matters.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t a thousand+ workers and their family members leave during the insane COVID lockdown?
Yo, my man Chris! How about suggesting to the Big Guy that he can grow Bermuda’s population by taking in illegal aliens deported from the USA? Huge pool of people to choose from. Take in the best of the best from the pool – people with skill sets needed in Bermuda.
Bermuda took in 4 unskilled Uyghurs; why not a few hundred or even a few thousand skilled deportees from the USA to grow the workforce? Bermuda might even get paid to take in the deportees.
Sounds like a win-win plan to me.
Quiet. The PLP never saw an obviously bad idea that they have not liked.
In order to grow the population we need to grow affordable accomodations.
“In order to grow the population we need to grow affordable accomodations.”
Accommodation does not “grow”, it gets built.
If the right economic conditions exist, developers will build accommodation appropriate to the needs of the populace.
If the right economic conditions do not exist developers will not build accommodation.
Governments can influence, but cannot control, economic conditions.
The PLP Government in Bermuda has not engendered economic conditions conducive to development of residential accommodation outside the City of Hamilton. Hence the lack of development of “affordable” residential accommodation. That is why the PLP Government spent over $100 MILLION developing 94 units at Grand Atlantic, an average cost of more than $1 MILLION per unit of “affordable” housing.
err , but what if the accommodation is not waiting to be built , it already exists and has been paid off for 80+ years or inherited and the owner(s) demand 3x’s more than it’s really worth ?
The issue isn’t availability , it’s that (for some reason) rents have way outstripped wages .
“the owner(s) demand 3x’s more than it’s really worth”
How do you measure “worth”?
In a commercial economy (which Bermuda is) the “worth” of rental accommodation is what a willing tenant will pay a willing landlord.
The age of the property and whether there is a mortgage over the property do not come into play.
*In a commercial economy (which Bermuda is) the “worth” of rental accommodation is what a willing tenant will pay a willing landlord.*
No it’s not . The landlord knows how tight the housing situation is and is taking great advantage of it.
He knows that it’s a take it or leave it situation and ‘leave it’ means living in a car or cave somewhere.
Again , why haven’t wages kept up with rents ?
“Again , why haven’t wages kept up with rents ?”
That is a question for our Minister of Economy and Labour.
Over time rents have not increased by much.
In 2005 rent for a decent 2br apt in a desirable neighbourhodd were in the $2500 to $3000 range. In 20026, 21 years later, that same apt at market value without rent control interference goes for $3500 to $4500.
Over time not an unreasonable increase. Average wages plus benefits have increased much more.
So, where does the money go? Nobody complains about the car payments on that large car and it’s massive licensing fee to Government every year. Nobody complains about the hundreds that they pay for the top phone plan every month. Nobody complains about the price of the convenience food that they drop in the cart every week. Nobody complains about the thousands that they spend on travel every year. Nobody complains about the thousands spent on Amazon.
They sure do complain about the price of that essential, a roof over their heads.
Don’t like the cost of rents? Go buy your own house. Deal with the mortgage, the maintenance, the insurance, the landscaping every week, the repairs, the insurance, the landtax.
Cut back on all of that stuff listed above. Get a small car, the travel, the phone plan, the food, the restaurants etc.
Bermudians don’t have a problem with the high cost of living. Bermudians have a problem with the cost of living high.
A 2 bed/one bath apartment (not cottage) was listed for rent 2 weeks ago for $5000 .
The cottage next to me was $5000 a month in 2017 , it’s now $8000 a month.
And you’re trying to convince us that rents have barely gone up at all .. lol
The number one reason listed for the exodus of Bermudians to the UK is the unaffordable housing.
An economist recently stated that the high cost of rents are at the root of our spiraling cost of living crisis .
The change in the number of guest workers has been given in the absence of the new number of Bermudians…I’m curious to know what the ratio was before compared to now because they say lots of Bermudians have left the island.
Also in the past it seemed like the vast majority of guest workers were male maybe it feels different because there are so many women here now. Maybe it feels different because the rents are so high and we know guest workers are piling into places and sharing the rent.
Maybe it feels different because they are doing every type of job from the most menial to the most skilled.
Maybe because their children are in the public schools. I don’t know the answer but everyone is talking about the numbers.