The US State Department has criticised the Jamaican government's efforts to prevent child labour and exploitation.
In its 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released on Wednesday, it said the government did not effectively enforce child labour laws.
It noted that while the minimum age for general employment is 15, with a strict prohibition on employing children younger than 13, the government does not have a list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children.
It said those who legally hire children are not required to keep any records and government agencies did not inspect the informal sector.
It noted that a Youth Activity Survey revealed that 5.8 per cent of children engaged in child labour and four per cent of all children were engaged in hazardous work.
The report also said children were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation.
It said while most penalties for child labour were criminal and in line with those for similar crimes, penalties for sex trafficking that allowed for a fine in lieu of imprisonment were not commensurate with similar crimes.
The report also noted that violent criminal gangs used children for forced begging, as lookouts, armed gunmen, as couriers of drugs and weapons, and for lottery scams.
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