The Bureau of Statistics will soon undertake two major surveys, one of which would help with “finally understanding” the rate of unemployment regionally and nationally.
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan told the media following the signing ceremony for the USAID’s YES Programme yesterday that “it is important to understand the employment and unemployment rate by region because it would help with planning.”
The four-year YES [Youth Empowerment Service] programme would be implemented in five targeted areas; Corriverton, East La Penitence, Sophia, Lodge and East Ruimveldt to help with reducing crime and violence.
Jordan said the unemployment survey is also important to understand “whether you are making a difference nationally to the unemployment rate.”
The other survey would deal with the Consumer Price Index, which Jordan said was only done in Georgetown to approximate what is happening to the rest of the country.
He noted that pricing is different in the interior areas, giving an example in Kamarang, where the price for a bag of rice would be much higher than in Georgetown.
As such, he said “public servants have complained bitterly” that they do not want to leave Georgetown to work in those areas.
This is because even with the allowances that the government pay them, they “couldn’t live in those areas on a Georgetown salary.”
He said the survey would allow government to understand regional inflation rates so that they would be able to plan better.
In October last year, former President Donald Ramotar had told Stabroek News that crime is as a direct result of high unemployment rates.
He had called on the APNU+AFC government to urgently devise strategies to tackle the core issue and find ways to increase employment rates and create revenue earning initiatives.
“These are mainly economic crimes. Therefore, the main responsibility lies with the government to stimulate the economy so that more jobs can be created. That will have an impact on the situation,” Ramotar had said.
