“Jamaica has lost its competitiveness.” That’s the opinion of newly elected president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica, Yoni Epstein.
He was reacting to the recent economic fallout in the local business process outsourcing and digital services industry.
It’s reported that employment within the industry fell to 50,000 in March this year. It’s 12,000 fewer than the 62,000 jobs recorded two years earlier.
The industry also reportedly missed the government’s March 2025 target of 70,000 jobs.
It also spent an estimated US$780 million in the local economy in the fiscal year ending March 2026. That’s a decline of US$220 million from the year prior.
Epstein says some of the fallout can be attributed to the impact of Hurricane Melissa last October.
Yoni Epstein, president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica. He was speaking on Nationwide’s The Week That Was on Sunday.
