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Crime, corruption and the cost of living are the top three concerns affecting the Jamaican people. That’s according to the latest Nationwide/Bluedot poll, powered by Total Tools.
The poll was conducted between September 6 and 19. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.
Ricardo Brooks has the details.
It’s perhaps a coincidence that the concerns all start with the letter ‘C’. But these three issues occupy the minds of Jamaicans when they go to bed at nights: crime, corruption and cost of living.
The Bluedot pollsters asked 1,246 Jamaicans to rank their present concerns. Crime was number one.
While the issue has consistently topped the list of concerns, there’s been a 10 percentage point increase in the number of Jamaicans who highlight it as their top issue, moving from 29 per cent in February 2024 to 39 per cent in September.
Corruption follows crime. The issue was highlighted as the second most prominent concern for Jamaicans, jumping from fourth in the rankings in February 2024 to second in September.
Fifteen per cent of respondents identified it as their second most pressing concern. This is compared to 11 per cent in February. That’s a swing of four percentage points.
It’s also the first time since 2021 that corruption has featured among the top two concerns for Jamaicans.
By the pollsters’s reasoning, the finding suggests an increase in a loss of trust in the leadership of the country and official institutions.
The opposition People’s National Party, PNP, will no doubt welcome this finding as evidence that its message that the Holness government is the most corrupt in the country’s history may be starting to resonate.
The opposition has consistently argued the time has come to turn the page on what they allege is poor governance and rampant corruption.
Rounding out the top three concerns for Jamaicans is the cost of living. It’s the first time since September 2022 that the cost of living has not ranked as the second most pressing issue for Jamaicans.
There’s been a one percentage point decline in the number of Jamaicans who flagged cost of living as their concern, falling from 15 per cent in February 2024 to 14 per cent in September.
The pollsters found that eight in 10 Jamaicans are concerned about cost of living with two in every three respondents expressing extreme concern.
There’s been a four percentage point increase in the number of PNP supporters, 63 per cent, who indicate they’re concerned about their personal financial situation and a five percentage point increase, 49 per cent, in the number of Jamaica Labour Party supporters expressing a similar concern.
Unemployment and jobs comes in fourth on the list of concerns plaguing Jamaicans. It has fallen out of the top three, when compared to the February 2024 poll findings.
It suggests some improvement in the perception of job availability. Nine per cent of Jamaicans continue to identify it as a pressing concern. This is down from 12 per cent in February.
The list is rounded out with concerns related to healthcare, governance and leadership, the economy and education.
English (US) ·