Fewer Jamaican households receiving remittances

 

Fewer Jamaican households are receiving remittances.

 

This is according to the findings of the third quarter Business and Consumer Confidence Survey, conducted by Market Research Services.

 

Executive Chairman Don Anderson says 27 per cent of households are receiving remittances, compared with a high of 36 per cent 13 years ago.

 

Mr. Anderson says the dip in remittances has implications for people trying to make ends meet. 

 

"It goes towards their daily household income, daily household expenditure, and they find that they have very little to save, because they use this money basically to take care of their food and their school fees and that kind of thing. So in addition to the fact that they don't have a great degree of optimism about jobs coming on stream, they are also less cushioned by the remittances that are coming in. And therefore it reflects on the challenges that consumers say they currently have meeting their household expenses," Mr. Anderson explained. 

 

The survey data is consistent with information released by the BoJ which shows that remittances accounted for only 17.4 per cent of GDP  last year, compared with 24 per cent in 2021.