Jamaica’s Economy Declined by 0.8% in 4th Quarter of 2024

The Jamaican economy declined by 0.8 per cent for the fourth and final quarter of 2024, compared to the similar period for 2023.

That’s according to information from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, STATIN.

According to STATIN, the services industries grew by 0.4 per cent, while the goods producing industries declined by 4.3 per cent.

The outturn in the services industries was led by growth of 1.8 per cent in the transport storage and dommunication sector. All other sections of the services industries, with the exception of hotels and restaurants, real estate and electricity and water supply, saw improvements.

The fourth quarter decline is an improvement over expectations previously put forward by the Planning Institute of Jamaica, PIOJ.

The PIOJ estimated the economy would have contracted by 1.8 per cent for the period.

Meanwhile, agriculture was the hardest hit in the goods producing industries, declining by more than 10 per cent.

Mining and quarrying, construction and manufacturing all declined over the period, in comparison to 2023.

STATIN says the contraction represents the second quarterly decline for 2024.

This reflects the impact of Tropical Storm Rafael in November last year, and the lingering effects of Hurricane Beryl earlier in the year.

The economy’s performance was also impacted by the declines in electricity consumption, which decreased due to significant damage to the Jamaica Public Service Company infrastructure in the third quarter.

This impact spilt over into the fourth quarter of 2024.

This was influenced by the fall in residential and commercial consumption due to electricity outages resulting from the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

The reduction in foreign national visitor arrivals from the United States of America also contributed to the decline in the hotels and restaurants industry.