Cayman’s job postings decline

After a high of more than 1,800 postings at the start of the year, local employment opportunities on government’s jobs portal are on the decline.

However, the head of the Labour Market Demand Unit, which falls under Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman, said the numbers do not yet signify a slowdown in job opportunities.

The latest report from the unit shows that 1,500 jobs were posted on the JobsCayman portal in March this year, about a 9% drop from the 1,648 postings in the previous month.

This followed a high of 1,857 job ads in January, the majority of which were fuelled by the construction industry.

Comparing the stats for March 2023 versus March 2024, there was a more than 31% drop in job postings.

From January to March 2024, there were 5,005 job advertisements, compared with 6,222 advertisements in the corresponding period of 2023, the report stated.

Reinaldo Fletcher, manager of the Labour Market Demand Unit, said while the trends do show a decline in advertisements, that does not necessarily translate to a slowdown in job opportunities.

“Opportunities also stem from job postings that are not captured in the JobsCayman Portal,” he said, adding that jobs advertised specifically for Caymanians and/or permanent residents would not be included in the portal, and would not be part of the report.

However, reflecting on the report statistics, Fletcher said he was not surprised by the decline in postings “as there other factors that could have contributed to this decline, such as the timing of construction projects, etc., which would have impacted employers advertising for jobs”.

He said before he would consider the decline significant, the downward trend would have to continue for a longer period, noting that through the market report he also compares job postings for the first quarter of 2024 with the same period in 2023.

This means that “seasonal factors are removed”, he said.

Asked whether the drop in job postings could indicate a slowdown of the construction industry and, by extension, the economy, Fletcher said there are other indicators that would also need to be considered.

“While job postings is a leading indicator of employment, it is not sufficient to attribute the performance of an industry or the economy to this indicator alone,” he said, adding that the Economics and Statistics Office measures the growth rate of all industries, and the economy overall, and would be the department evaluating those metrics to make such an assessment.

Construction jobs remain top of list

While several major construction projects, such as Hotel Indigo, nearing completion, the demand for skilled labourers within the community is continuing to drive job postings.

In March, the construction industry accounted for 309 job postings, representing 20.6% of the total number of job openings, according to the labour demand report.

The accommodation and food service activities industry followed with 263 job advertisements or 17.5% of the total, while the administrative and support service activities industry recorded 236 job openings or 15.7% of overall postings that month.

In addition, there were 1,485 job postings that specified a certain level of education of which 811 postings, or 54.6%, required persons to have a high school or equivalent qualification.

Some 267 jobs, or 18%, required a bachelor’s degree, and 185, or 12.5%, were looking for applicants with a certificate or diploma.

Collaboration

When it comes to educating and preparing Caymanians for the jobs that are in demand, Fletcher urged collaboration between the Labour Market Demand Unit and the Ministry of Education “to bridge the gap between labour needs and supply by sharing local and global labour market information.”

“This information will provide critical insight into the jobs and skills needed for the future world of work and allow the Ministry of Education to implement policy to adequately prepare students for this new paradigm,” he said in his report.

He told the Compass that training programmes offered to Caymanians have been aligned to the most dominant industries in terms of job postings.

He pointed out that the Heavy Equipment Training and core curriculum programmes offered through Inspire Cayman are examples of internationally accredited certifications offered to Caymanians “which is consistent with the recommendation from the Job Postings Report for Caymanians to be globally competitive”.

There are other public and private institutions that are involved in training, such as the University College of the Cayman Islands, he added.

Overall construction jobs, for the year to date, have led postings on the government employment portal with 1,053 advertisements.

Accommodation and food service activities followed in second place with 893 jobs and administrative and support services in third place with 775 postings.

IT workers highest paid

When it comes to the highest-paying job postings for March, software developers topped the list with an average annual salary of $196,917.

This profession was followed by specialist medical practitioners with an average annual salary of $174,000 and lawyers proceeded with an average annual salary of $171,913.

Fletcher noted that there were declines in the average annual salary for the highest-paying occupations and required education for March 2024 relative to March the year before, and January-March 2024 relative to January-March 2023.

He said these declines “do not suggest anything of significance and possibly represent normal market wage fluctuations in the economy”.

This is a change over February’s highest paying professions which recorded by mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians at the top of the list with an average annual salary of $179,167.