- ULP unemployment figures show government is out of touch
The New Democratic Party has called the ULP Government out of touch, referencing unemployment figures put forward by Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves from a draft labour market survey.
Reputable international organisations such as the World Bank, IMF and others have reported unemployment rate as being one in four or 25% of the Vincentian workforce, are out of work. Earlier this week the Finance Minister said that there were only 5,800 people unemployed, a rate close to 10.8% of those eligible to work. The Finance Minister suggested this number was from a not yet published labour market study.
Dwight Fitz Bramble MP, said: “The Finance Minister is very out of touch and disingenuous to say that only 5,800 people are unemployed. When I am out in my constituency, I come across countless people who are in search of work but have no support from this government. I come across parents of young people who have been forced to move abroad because of the lack of job opportunities here in SVG.
SVG is facing an unemployment crisis, and this must be addressed. The government should spend more time listening to Vincentians and creating a plan that will actually lower the unemployment rate. The NDP has a plan to create more jobs, raise wages and create a brighter future for everyone in SVG.”
