December 9, 2022
The year 2022 saw several notable trends on the labour front, from a strong rebound in tourism to increased foreign recruitment, better salaries and more. Caribbean Employment Services Inc., the market-leading digital talent acquisition service that connects hiring managers with the best talent in the region, has closely monitored such developments since the start of the year and released its list of the top labour trends that marked 2022:
1. Tourism and hospitality rebound
2. Economic diversification
3. Minimum wage and salary increases
4. Foreign recruitment
5. Job training programmes
Tourism rebound
After a whirlwind 2020 that ushered in the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and halted tourism — the bread and butter of many Caribbean nations — through most of 2021, 2022 marked a year of rapid tourism recovery. A rebound in tourism, and the direct and indirect jobs that accompany it, was a major trend for many countries that call the Caribbean home. With global travel beginning to return in full swing as COVID cases died down and travel restrictions relaxed, business began to return to tourism and hospitality operations that had been forced to shutter for more than a year. Likewise, tour operator companies, taxi drivers, beach vendors and those with informal jobs that rely on tourism were all able to once again have a chance to earn a decent living. Thousands of tourism and hospitality-related jobs have returned to the nation, although perhaps not to pre-pandemic levels and not without harsh lessons in sustainability, resilience and diversification.
Economic diversification
Said diversification was another major trend seen across several Caribbean nations this year, with a positive being that most were successful. While tourism and agriculture have historically been the two major industries of the region, the pandemic made governing bodies and private businesses alike take a hard look at how to diversify. This has seen Caribbean countries usually known for their gorgeous locales look to become tech hubs instead. Nations like Barbados, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Cayman, Belize and more successfully ventured into new tech industries with a view to dramatically increase tech jobs and upskill residents. Between job training programmes, job placements and other initiatives, Caribbean nations got serious about becoming a tech hub and could very well become known for more than just beautiful beaches as this trend continues.
Minimum wage and salary increases
Another notable trend among many Caribbean countries, as commended by Caribbean Employment Services Inc. CEO Joseph Boll, is a move to provide working residents with more disposable income. The cost of living has skyrocketed around the world, with the Caribbean no exception — especially given the importation costs some nations have to contend with. However, even whilst governments were themselves still recovering from the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a common trend has been to raise minimum wage, implement a minimum wage and/or increase the salary of public sector or private sector workers. Most countries that have done so have expressly said it’s an effort to help residents cope with the cost of living, while also improving working conditions. While not all of the increases have been implemented, this development has seemingly spread from nation to nation and augurs well for local workers.
Foreign recruitment
At the same time, labour challenges abroad have spilled over into the Caribbean region. The Great Resignation of the USA, an aging workforce in Canada and skills shortages in the UK have prompted many employers from those regions and beyond to look to the Caribbean for skilled workers. While this is a complex issue given the Caribbean’s own challenge with brain drain and skills gaps, for Caribbean workers it presented a unique opportunity to take advantage of other nations’ labour challenges. Caribbean Employment Services Inc. alone partnered with dozens of foreign employers offering lucrative relocation packages to Caribbean workers willing to live and work abroad, and while the trend has begun dying down towards the end of the year, an unpredictable workforce in these First World nations could lead them back to the Caribbean in the future. For their part, many Caribbean countries have also had to look abroad to fill labour gaps, especially in healthcare. However, several have also made intentional efforts to remedy the need for this in the future by beginning to train their own residents.
Job training
Caribbean nations have also made serious notable attempts this year to train local residents to fill skills gaps and their own projected labour shortages. Several nations have undertaken years-long programmes to begin ensuring their own labour markets will have sufficient skilled workers to avoid recruiting from other countries. This is expected to also help address a longstanding issue of expatriate workers being hired to fill high-earning positions, with employers claiming there is no skilled local available to fill the position while locals claim there are suitable employees. The job training programmes also include novice industries, particularly in tech, and are expected to yield fruitful results in the future once the training cohorts have been successful.
Caribbean Employment Services Inc., as an organization dedicated to labour and employment in the region, will continue to monitor related developments even as it assists with talent acquisition and job placement. It also looks forward to future developments in the year to come.