All over the world, unemployment figures are a critical indicator of an economy's wellbeing. In Belize, the unemployment rate is derived from the Labour Force Survey – which is done twice yearly – in April and September. The results of the April 2015 survey were released today and they show that with a labour force of 153 thousand persons, 138 thousand are employed. That leaves 15 about thousand unemployed – for an unemployment rate of 10.1% - the lowest recorded figure since April of 2007 – and one percent lower than a year ago. Director General of the Statistical Institute of Belize Leopold Perriot explained at press conference today:..

Leopold Perriot - Director General, SIB

"The employed labour force went up slightly from April 2014 to April 2015; went up by total of about 3,500 people. So the employed persons, 138,145 person in April 2015. They are 15,544 persons that are unemployed in Belize April 2015 compared with 16,730 in April 2014; we're down in the unemployed categories. And we're down mostly due to the females. Compared with April 2014, the unemployment rate is down 1 percentage point. Currently it stands at about 10.1%; and so it's down from 11.1% in April 2014. And this is the distribution in respect to various districts. Stann Creek of course seems to give us the highest unemployment rate; followed by Cayo. Lowest in Toledo, that's what it was last time Toledo also is 2014."

Unemployment has been trending down since September 2013 when it peaked at 16.1%. The next labour force survey is in September, which is usually higher than April due to fewer seasonal jobs in tourism and agriculture. This survey polled 2800 households.

And if you get lost in all the percentages, this may be simpler: there are 3,558 more persons working in April 2015, than there were in APRIL 2014.