With its much-touted anchor development projects reportedly contributing to what government officials and independent sources have characterized as an economic expansion, the Christie Administration is hopeful that new employment numbers expected to be released within weeks will show that fewer and fewer Bahamians are unemployed.
In 2005, some government officials openly expressed disappointment when the Department of Statistics announced that unemployment in 2005 was 10.2 percent, unchanged from 2004.
This year ﾖ leading into an election year ﾖ the government is hoping that the country would be returned to the days when unemployment was in the single digits, an accomplishment that former officials of the Ingraham Administration continue to boast about. Between 1997 and 2002, the unemployment rate remained below 10 percent, dropping as low as 6.9 percent in 2001, according to government statisticians.
Officials are hopeful that the results of the various projects would mean that historically low figures would be ushered in.
They believe unemployment is indeed down and are now only awaiting confirmation from the Department of Statistics.
As far as Minister of Financial Services and Investments Vincent Peet is concerned, anyone who wants to work can find a job in The Bahamas.
“We expect the figure to be down, clearly,” Minister Peet said on Thursday.
“All of these projects are coming on stream, Phase III of Atlantis is moving, Exuma is moving, Abaco is moving, so clearly those who want to work for the most part can find work.”
Monthly reports from the Central Bank of The Bahamas continue to support the governmentﾒs claims that the economy is in a period of growth.
In fact, the latest report released on Thursday said initial data for the month of July indicated continued growth in economic activity, highlighted by sustained strengthening in consumer demand, tourism investment and construction activity.
The fiscal performance also reflected the ongoing economic expansion, the report said, pointing to a narrowing budget deficit.
But Zhivargo Laing, a former economic development minister in the Ingraham government, has characterized the stagnation of the unemployment figure as “jobless growth.”
However, this year he expects unemployment to drop, but not by a whole lot.
“I think on a pervious occasion I suggested that it would be about a percentage point lower, but not lower than that because quite frankly, I havenﾒt seen that many things happening that would contribute to that,” said Mr. Laing, who is trained in economics.
“I think itﾒs safe to say if you had a percentage point drop in the unemployment rate that would certainly mean that you would have had an acceleration in job creation, especially when youﾒve had a stagnant situation for two years. A one percentage point drop would be a good sign, but given that the economy has been growing over the last four years, one would have expected a better figure than that.”
But Minister Peet insisted that “people are being employed everywhere.”
On the ground, some people are feeling the impact of the ongoing economic expansion. Others, however, still say itﾒs tough to find a job and make ends meet.
Milton Belle, a 51-year-old carpenter who spoke with The Bahama Journal while he pumped water on Laird Street in New Providence on Thursday, said the problem with some people who complain about not having work is that they are too lazy to find the jobs that are available.
“If you put yourself in a spot to go out there, you could find a job,” said Mr. Belle, a Rastafarian father of three daughters who insisted that he looks at such issues differently from many people.
“Some people sit down. You canﾒt just sit down. You have to go out there and make it your business to look for things to do. You canﾒt survive off of evil thingsﾅTo survive today you have to find something to support your family. You canﾒt steal, you canﾒt rob.”
But he said things are still really hard right now.
“I do anything,” he said. “Iﾒm a handyman. All you need is the energy. Sometimes youﾒre fortunate to get a little something to do.”
Kendal Colebrooke, 46, who lives in Bain Town, said heﾒs persistent, but finding a good job is difficult.
“Iﾒm looking for a job day by day,” Mr. Colebrooke said, “Iﾒve being going all around.”
He said while he was educated, he wasnﾒt skillful.
“Itﾒs very important for me to find a job, but everywhere I go I get turned down,” Mr. Colebrooke said. “Iﾒm not a jailbird or anything like that.”
Michael Archer, another Bain Town resident, said heﾒs old. At 52, he said he needs work, but the construction sites are too demanding for someone his age. So, he said, he resorts to weeding peopleﾒs yards, cleaning cars and toting water for tips.
He spoke to The Bahama Journal at a water pump on Meadow Street in Bain Town. Mr. Archer, who was filling buckets of water and placing them into a cart, said he doesnﾒt make a lot of money, but heﾒs able to survive.
And survival, he noted, is important.
As far as 23-year-old Leslie Lewis views things, thereﾒs a lot of work out there. Mr. Lewis, who lives on Cowpen Road, said most of his friends are employed on construction sites or as landscapers.
“Some arenﾒt looking for jobs,” Mr. Lewis said. “Others who are looking are finding jobs.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
