Employment in the Bahamas
Bahama Islands News, Articles and Information
Numbers don't add up
Statistics supposedly leaked to the press on the preliminary estimates of unemployment in The Bahamas have been greeted with widespread skepticism and even suggestions that this is an attempt by the Government to try and manufacture something positive at a time when it has been rocked by a series of damaging controversies. As tempting as it may be, we do not believe that the Government would willfully doctor unemployment figures to shift the spotlight from the negative publicity that has enveloped it in the aftermath of the fight between two of its Members of Parliament and the scandal that is still evolving with regard to what has become known as the Anna Nicole Smith Affair. It simply makes no sense for the Government to take such elaborate steps to deceive the Bahamian people, for whenever the official statistics are released, they will have to include supportive evidence to show that unemployment indeed is now at the lowest it has been in 35 years, as has been claimed.
The Bahamas should consider introducing a residency tax
Whether you support the Christie administration or not, even a blind and deaf person will acknowledge on the face of a direct comparison between the first term of the FNM from 1992-1997 and the PLP from 2002-2006, the PLP has without any doubt excelled with attracting prospective new employment projects by leaps and bounds. I would say there is no rational comparison.I have no doubt in saying that the fiscal business performance of Kerzner International had a lot to do with causing this and, therefore, the signing of the initial Heads of Agreement with Kerzner under the FNM has to be registered as 'a most positive catalyst.'
The election of the Republicans and President George Bush for two terms and the growth of wealth under their leadership is the catalyst as to why such a high calibre of investor is interested in The Bahamas.
Unemployment figures take 'dip'
The overall unemployment rate for The Bahamas has dropped to 7.3 per cent from 10.2 per cent according to the preliminary results of the latest unemployment report expected to be released later this week, The Nassau Guardian has learned.The much anticipated report also shows that unemployment is down to 6.6 per cent in New Providence, from double figures, and 8.3 per cent in Grand Bahama, from 11 per cent, a well-placed source said.
"This is the second lowest (overall unemployment rate) in 33 years, second only to the 6.9 per cent posted in 2001," the source told The Guardian last night.
The latest preliminary figures, which take into account up to September 2006, come after an unchanged unemployment rate of 10.2 per cent for the years 2004 and 2005.
Better times are coming
Bahamians can expect a better standard of living if the country's unemployment rate continues to dip, it was suggested last night.Commenting on recently released preliminary results of the 2006 Labor Force Survey, an assistant professor at the nation's leading tertiary institution said a sustained drop in unemployment should be seen as an encouraging sign.
"It's a positive indicator and therefore if the trend continues, Bahamians can expect significant improvement in their living standards," said Randy Forbes, assistant professor of economics and finance at the College of The Bahamas.
Mr Forbes said it was difficult to make predictions based on the annual survey, but noted that the trend, once sustained through 2007, would be cause for a positive outlook.
Why the Ministry of Education is so backward?
It is with irritation and frustration that I am writing this letter. I am a qualified business education teacher with a Master's Degree in technology education and 10 years teaching experience. I just recently left the private sector to enter the public education system in September 2006. As of today, I have not been issued a letter of employment and neither have I been paid a salary.How is it that in the 21st Century it is taking the Ministry of Education so long to get their salary sheet in order? I have worked in the private education system in The Bahamas and in the United States and I have never experienced this echelon of inefficiency.
On the October 30, I spoke with Minister Sears while he was at Jack Hayward High School. At the time I spoke to him regarding the lack of functional computers, issues in the computer labs and my financial dilemma.
PLP says economy is more robust
The Opposition Free National Movement (FNM) should simply face the unchallengeable fact that the Bahamian people are better off today under the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) than ever before. This according to PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby, who claimed on Friday that the drastic fall in the overall unemployment rate in The Bahamas, proves that the economy is more robust than ever before. "These results give credence to and further support the fact that economic transformation has taken root in The Bahamas," Mr. Rigby said. "In just four short years in office, the PLP government has been able to bring about an economic renaissance unparalleled in our modern history. Many Bahamians are now at work and those who wish to be employed can find work in The Bahamas," the PLP Chairman claimed.