NASSAU, BAHAMAS — While the Bahamian economy has undoubtedly rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, a businessman and former tourism minister says the country needs more than one percent growth to absorb the number of persons seeking employment.
Dionisio D’Aguilar stated: “I think the economy is improving, there is no doubt about that. It has improved from the depths and darkness of COVID. What is very worrying for me is the projections for the economy to go back to the same old one percent growth. Our business model is not generating the growth we need to absorb all the people looking for employment. I looked at the employment numbers, and the number of employed persons remained the same. The only thing that changed was the number of persons seeking a job, which reduced, improving the employment percentage.”
Last week, the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) reported that the country’s unemployment rate during the first half of the year decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 8.7 percent, with the total number of discouraged workers reaching just under 13,000 in the second quarter. It was noted that in the first quarter of 2024, there were 213,585 employed persons, a decrease of less than one percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Ministry of Labour and Public Service celebrated the survey results in a statement, noting that The Bahamas has now recorded its lowest unemployment rate since 2008.
D’Aguilar said: “The government has to rack its brains and figure out how to get this economy growing by more than one percent. That’s their projection, not mine. That’s what they have in the budget book—one percent. We need it to grow more to absorb all of the people coming into the workforce. Now, this is the thing that a lot of Bahamians are irate about because they can’t find meaningful employment here. We have to find a way to make this economy grow in such a way and at such a pace to absorb all of the individuals coming into the workforce.”
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