Briceño Administration Celebrates Decrease in October 2022 Unemployment Rate

Henry Charles Usher

On Wednesday, the Statistical Institute of Belize announced that the unemployment rate for October 2022 stood at five percent. Belize has not seen such a decrease in the unemployment rate since the late eighties, early nineties and the Briceño administration is taking this as a victory for its Plan Belize manifesto. Today, Henry Charles Usher, the Chairman of the People’s United Party, told reporters that this latest achievement is big news.

Henry Charles Usher, Chairman, P.U.P.

“Well, I think that is big news. I don’t think we have seen five percent unemployment rate since the eighties or so. I think it is an indication that Plan Belize and the work of this government over the past two years, it is working. The economic policies in place are working. But it is now time in 2023 to make sure that the Belizean public benefit from all of those sacrifices, benefit from all of those hard decisions that had to be made. I think it is critical this year that we continue to grow the economy, that we continue to make sure that people are in jobs, that new industries are created, that the Plan Belize initiatives, NHI, free education, housing, that those are done and are done in a way that benefit the majority of the Belizean people. What I am most impressed about, surprised as well, but impressed that for skilled labor the unemployment rate is even lower than five percent. It is somewhere around three percent. So, unskilled labor is a bit higher, somewhere around seven percent. But, the average is five. It is an indication that the education opportunities available to the Belizean people have to improve. We have to make sure that the unskilled laborer develops skills. We have to look at vocational training more, look at the ITVETs, and look at ways to include them in this economy in some way.”