The unemployment rate among Caymanians has risen to 5%, with 1,143 locals out of work, according to the most recent data released by the government’s Economic and Statistics Office.
The statistics, released on 18 April, relate to the second half of 2023, and indicate that the islands’ overall unemployment rate – among the entire 60,513-strong labour force of Caymanians, permanent residents and other non-Caymanians – rose to 3.3% late last year, compared to 2.1% in the latter half of 2022.
During the second half of 2022, the percentage of unemployed Caymanians was 3.6%, or 796 people without jobs – at the time considered a near historic low, as the islands bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated border closure.
The statistics seem to indicate that the Caymanian unemployment rate is creeping back up to pre-COVID levels – in 2019, that rate stood at 5.6%.
The ESO’s Fall 2023 Labour Force Survey report notes that, by the end of the year, a total of 2,008 people were unemployed in Cayman.
The report, garnered from surveys of individuals in 1,987 households in October and November last year, stated that 46.6% of those who were unemployed said there was “no work available” as the main reason for not working.
It added, “When asked about the various methods utilised to search for jobs (multiple-response questions), the most popular responses among the unemployed were “ask friends” (58.5%) and “contact an employer directly” (54.7%). The unemployed also chose “send resume” (52.9%) and “check websites” (39.4%).”
The majority (64.3%) of the unemployed stated that they had held previous jobs. Of these, 52.2% said they had been without work for more than a year.
Among the unemployed Caymanians, 895 (78.3%) had previous jobs and 248 (21.7%) had never held a job. More than half – 53.2% – of those with previous jobs had been were unemployed for more than a year.
The ESO defines unemployed people as those without work; currently available for work and actively looking for a job; or with definite arrangements to start a job within four weeks.
Population growth
The increases in Cayman’s unemployment rates come as the population size and the number of people employed in the islands reach a record high.
The ESO estimates that the islands’ population, by the end of 2023, stood at 84,738 – an increase of 3,192 over 2022’s figure.
Its statistics for population leave a margin for error, however – as the numbers are based on estimates rather than a census count – with a range of a minimum population size of 79,526 and a maximum of 89,951.
The statistics office’s latest estimate of population indicates an increase of more than 18% over the last definitive population count in the 2021 census, which showed 71,432 residents living in Cayman.
According to the latest estimates, currently residing in the Cayman Islands are 39,068 Caymanians, 37,890 non-Caymanian work permit holders and dependents, and 7,690 permanent residents and dependents (5,341 of whom have the right to work).
At the time the survey was carried out in 2023, there were a total of 58,504 employed people working in Cayman, compared to 56,355 during fall 2022.
Underemployment rate
The ESO’s Fall 2023 Labour Force Survey report also explored Cayman’s ‘underemployment rate’ – defined as ‘involuntary part-time’ work, where workers who could (and would like to) be working for a full work week can find only part-time work.
Within Cayman’s employed population, 2.1% were considered to be underemployed by the end of 2023 – a significant drop on the 2022 figure, which was 5.1%.
The percentage of employed Caymanians in late 2023 who said they would like to be working more hours was 2.9%, while the underemployment rate of permanent residents with the right to work and non-Caymanians of 3.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
Those numbers all show a drop compared to the 2022 figures, which were 6.4%, 6.6% and 4%, respectively.
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