Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Spring 2018 show the unemployment rate (the proportion of unemployed persons to total labour force) at 3.4%, the lowest for the Cayman Islands since Spring 2007 when it hit 3.0%. It is also significantly lower compared to the 4.1% unemployment rate in Spring 2017.

The fall in unemployment rate occurred amidst a rise in the total labour force by 1.5% to reach 44,213 persons. The employed labour force was estimated at 42,717 persons, an increase of 2.3% compared to Spring 2017. The unemployed labour force was estimated at 1,496 persons, a decline of 16.0% from the level in the same period a year ago.

The Caymanian labour force reached 20,960 which represents an increase of 2.4%. Total employment among Caymanians was estimated at 19,842 reflecting a growth rate of 3.4% over the Spring 2017 estimate. The number of unemployed Caymanians declined by 12.4% to settle at 1,118 persons, resulting in an unemployment rate of 5.3%. The latter is the lowest since Spring 2007 and is significantly below the 6.2% estimated in Spring 2017.

The unemployment rate among Permanent Residents (PR) with rights to work also fell from 4.8% in Spring 2017 to 2.9%, and that among Non-Caymanians from 1.7 % to 1.3%.

The LFS Report also presents the population estimate of the Islands as of June 2018 growing by 2.1% from June 2017 to reach 64,240. The Caymanian population rose by 1.8% to 36,154. The PR population reached 5,971 persons as compared to 4,376 persons in Spring 2017. The Non-Caymanian population is estimated at 22,295, lower by 4.0% relative to estimated population as of June 2017.

More information on “The Cayman Islands’ Labour Force Survey Fall 2018 Report” is available at www.eso.ky.