Youth unemployment remains a major challenge to economic recovery in the Caribbean, according to the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Caribbean Economic Review and Outlook 2024-2025.
The report shows that while national unemployment rates have generally declined to single digits in most countries, youth unemployment continues to lag behind, with rates in double digits across the region.
In St Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados, youth unemployment stands at about 20 per cent, while the Bahamas and Jamaica report rates close to 18 per cent. Even in relatively stronger economies such as Trinidad and Tobago and Belize, youth joblessness remains around 15 per cent.
The CDB notes that the gap between youth and national unemployment exceeds 10 percentage points in several countries, including Belize, Jamaica, Grenada, the Bahamas, and Barbados.
The report points to structural issues in the region’s labour markets, with difficulties in integrating young people despite labour shortages in sectors such as tourism and construction.
According to the CDB, addressing these disparities will require targeted policies that focus on skills development and expanding job opportunities for young people to ensure more inclusive economic growth.
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