NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Roughly 40 percent of the Bahamian workforce is locked in a waiting game as businesses must reckon with furloughed workers on or before the end of unemployment assistance programs this month.
Director of Labour John Pinder told Eyewitness News yesterday the country’s economy will remain on life support until its critical industry, Tourism, can be resuscitated.
Pinder noted some businesses have slowly begun to bring workers back with the ease of restrictions but predicted many businesses will likely run down the deadline as they monitor the effect of the phased reopening.
He said businesses have until the end of September to make a decision whether to cut workers.
“We look at the numbers of people that went for unemployment assistance and unemployment benefit, then we look at numbers prior to pandemic which was 11 percent,” he said.
‘’When you add to the amount of people who got unemployment and look at the total work force that’s how you get an estimated number (40 percent).”
Pinder maintained the bulk of furloughed workers are jobs linked to the Tourism industry.
“It affects mostly tourism industry: hotels, restaurants, beach vendors, taxi and tour drivers, hair braiders, all those,” he said.
“The tourism industry depends on tourism, as long as the airports are closed and no tourists coming then we will still have some challenges. At least the local economy is opening and some businesses are reopening but unless airports and cruise lines are coming to The Bahamas – we depend on tourism. It’s still our number one industry.”
Pinder said: “The country economy will still be on life support until we get the tourism industry up and running or a new industry comes into play and people start to benefit – which ain’t gonna happen no time soon.
He continued: “I mean in terms of getting a substitute for tourism. It’s probably going to take another year or two to start diversifying and all of those things we think will help.
Pinder urged Bahamians to explore jobs in agriculture and marine resources.
“While we wait for the tourism product to get back on stream, we have to start looking at these other things,” he added.
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