(CNS): Unemployment statistics appear to be going in the wrong direction, according to the latest numbers from the Economics and Statistics office. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) Fall 2023 Report shows that the overall unemployment rate was 3.3% in October last year, but the number of Caymanians out of work had increased to 5% (357 more people) when compared to October 2022, even as the overall labour force itself grew by more than 5%, with a 2.2% increase in local workers finding a job. There are now over 60,500 people in the workforce, 58,500 of them working, 21,563 of whom are Caymanian.

Although Cayman now has a record-breaking labour force number and a record number of people actually in work, local unemployment rose to 1,143 people in October compared to 796 unemployed locals the year before and 842 in the spring of 2022.

So even as more Caymanians have jobs as more are created, more Caymanians were unemployed in the fall, which could indicate that high school and college graduates are pushing up the jobless figures. Almost 6% of the workforce is under 24 years old, but only around half of them are actually working.

The report also estimates that the population had grown by another 3.9% by the end of 2023 to reach 84,738, though the upper estimates suggest as many as 89,951 people are now living on these islands.

The Caymanian population rose by just 0.9% at the end of last year to 39,068, while the number of permanent residents grew from 6,629 in October 2022 to 7,690. The non-Caymanian population was estimated to be 37,980, an increase of 4.9% relative to the 2022 numbers, although the higher estimate indicates that the population of expatriates could now be over 43,000, according to the report.

There are estimated to be 72,803 people living in Cayman who are aged over 15 and legally able to work at least part-time. The labour force is 60,513 — the largest in the history of the Cayman Islands. But the unemployment rate for Caymanians increased from the rate of 3.6% in the autumn 2022 report, among the lowest ever, and from 3.7% in the spring of 2023 to 5% in the autumn 2023 report.

However, the number of Caymanians who say they are under-employed has fallen by some 50%, with 629 working fewer hours than they would like compared to 1,344 who were under-employed in October 2022.

According to the report, almost 20% of all employed Caymanians are professionals, and over 19% are technicians and associate professionals. Some 16.2% are managers, while over 12% work in service or sales, and 9.6% are clerical support workers. Expat workers are predominantly employed in service and sales or craft and related trades work, accounting for over 40%, while only 17% of non-Caymanians are professionals.

Overall, well over half of the workforce earns less than CI$3,600 per month, and more than 20,700 people earn less than $2,400 each month.

Almost half of the population lives in George Town, where 41,695 people reside. West Bay is home to 18,799 people, while 17,164 live in Bodden Town. There are 2,524 people in East End and 2,292 in North Side, which is now the least populated district on Grand Cayman. However, the Sister Islands are home to just 2,265 people, according to the report.

See the full report here.