[JAMAICA] – Over 14,000 Jamaicans were provided with jobs last year, through the Overseas Employment Program, which resulted in more than $1.2 billion in remittances to the island.
According to the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Horace Dalley, “the 14,000 jobs contributed to a reduction of unemployment among vulnerable groups as well as significantly increased the remittances”. He noted that the $1.2 billion represented only 20 per cent of the workers’ income. “The 14,000 workers on the overseas program therefore earned in excess of $6 billion”.
“The Overseas Employment Program continues to play an important role in providing employment for many Jamaicans, and has been mutually beneficial to Jamaica as well as the host countries,” said Dalley. He also noted that the increased remittances not only benefited the workers’ families, but the economy as a whole.
The Overseas program includes the United States Hotel Program, the United States Farm Work Program, the Canadian Farm Work Program and the Guantanamo Bay Skilled Workers Program.
