Jamaican Economy Contracts By 18.0% in Q2, PIOJ

• The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is reporting that the economy contracted by an estimated 18% for the April to June quarter, relative to the corresponding period last year.
• Specifically, a 7% and 20.6% contraction in the goods-producing industry and services industry, respectively, contributed to the over falloff in economic activity.
• The outturn was largely due to the impact of the coronavirus and measures implemented to contain its spread, which has resulted in job losses and reduced work hours, lower-income, weakened consumer demand, and continued slowdown in construction-related activities.
• All goods-producing subsectors declined, with mining and quarrying recording the greatest reduction of an estimated 25.2% due to lower alumina production outweighing increased bauxite output. The closure of the JISCO Alpart refinery has resulted in lower capacity utilization within the mining and quarrying industry. In addition, the agriculture sector declined by 8.5%; manufacturing by 2.9%; and construction by 3%.
• As it relates to the services industry, four of the five subsectors declined, with hotels and restaurants falling by 87.5%.

(Source: PIOJ)