Trinidad and Tobago’s Economic Environment Shows Improvement

• The unemployment rate for Q3 2022 was 5.4%, similar to the corresponding quarter of 2021 but higher than the 4.5% recorded in the second quarter of 2022, according to the Central Bank’s economic bulletin.
• Additionally, the economic bulletin reported that data published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) indicate that real GDP expanded by 6.6% (year-on-year) during the second quarter of 2022 and the non-energy sector was strong at 10.5%, while the energy sector declined by 2.5%.
• However, driven by external and domestic supply-side factors, the economic bulletin outlined that headline inflation accelerated during the second half of 2022 to 8.0% (year-on-year) in November 2022 (the highest rate since late 2014) compared to 4.9% in June. Core inflation increased to 6.6% while food inflation jumped to 13.8% in November 2022 from 4.1% and 7.8%, respectively in June 2022.
• Overall, GDP is estimated at 1.9% in 2023 by Fitch. The latest CSO data showed that economic activity was clearly on the rebound and is likely to be fueled by growth in construction, food and beverage manufacturing, trade and repairs, transport and storage, professional services and most importantly, the energy sector.

(Source: CariCris)