The composition of Jamaica’s economy is described as two main sectors: Goods Producing Industries and Service Industries as illustrated in table 4. The economy is heavily dependent on services, (including government activities, communications, transportation, finance and all other private economic activities that do not produce material goods) accounting for more than 70% of total GDP (CIA World Factbook, 2019). Jamaica also gains most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina.

Economic Performance for the period April to September 2019

The 2020/2021 Fiscal Planning Policy revealed that Jamaica GDP grew by 1.0% for the first half of fiscal year 2019/20. Highlighting a reduction in the pace of growth relative to the 2.1% achieved for the corresponding period of fiscal year 2018/19 (table 4) (Government of Jamaica, 2020). The government attributes the economic expansion to improvements in the Service industries.

The Goods Producing industries contracted by 0.2%. Under this sector, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry declined as a result of adverse weather-related conditions (drought followed by heavy rains), this impacted the island between June and October 2019. Mining and quarrying also declined due to the temporary closure of the JISCO (Alpart) refinery, the construction industry declined in civil engineering activities and infrastructural developments related to road rehabilitation, water supply improvement and power plant construction. An increase in construction of residential and non-residential buildings tempered the fallout.

The Manufacturing industry registered a growth of 4.1%, led by the Food, Beverages, and Tobacco (1.2%) and Other Manufacturing (8.4%) components (Government of Jamaica, 2020).

The Services industry recorded growth of 1.5% with hotels, restaurants and financial services being the lead contributors. Hotels and Restaurants grew by 4.3%, primarily as a result of a 14.1% increase in the number of foreign national visitors, which outweighed a decline in the average length of stay. Finance and insurance services recorded a growth of 3.8% (Government of Jamaica, 2020).

Table 4: Change in Value Added by Industry at Constant (2007) Prices (%)

	FY 2018/19            April-September (Actual)	FY 2019/20                             April-September (Actual)	FY 2018/19                                                 Full Fiscal Year (Actual)	FY 2019/20                     Full Fiscal Year (Projection) [pre-COVID-19]
GOODS PRODUCING INDUSTRY	6.4	-0.2	4.9	-1.2
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing	6.2	-0.9	4.0	1.2
Mining & Quarrying	42.5	-7.2	29.0	-22.0
Manufacture	0.2	4.1	0.4	3.1
of which: Food, Beverages & Tobacco	1.6	1.2	1.5	1.6
Other Manufacturing	-1.9	8.4	20.9	5.3
Construction	3.8	-1.8	3.8	-0.6
SERVICES INDUSTRY	0.7	1.5	1.1	1.4
Electricity & Water Supply	-0.1	0.3	0.3	1.2
Transport, Storage & Communication	1.3	1.0	1.3	1.0
Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair and Installation of Machinery	0.9	0.8	1.2	0.7
Finance & Insurance Services	0.8	3.9	1.1	3.4
Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.9
Producers of Government Services	-0.1	0.3	0.0	0.3
Hotels and Restaurants	1.0	4.3	3.1	3.6
Other Services	0.8	1.9	1.2	1.7
Less Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured (FISIM)	1.4	3.8	2.2	3.3
TOTAL GDP AT BASIC PRICES	2.1	1.0	2.0	0.6

 

Source: Fiscal Policy Paper 2020-2021, Ministry of Finance

References:

CIA World Factbook. (2019). Jamaica. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/

Government of Jamaica. (2020). Fiscal Policy Paper 2020-2021. Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. Available from: https://www.mof.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/fiscal-policy-paper-2020-21-140220.pdf