Chamber data dive paints stark picture of economy
The total number of jobs filled last year had still not returned to 2019 levels and was equal to figures from 1985-86, according to a presentation yesterday by the Chamber of Commerce.
The Data Deep Dive event, which attracted about 140 people, was held after the chamber’s Budget Breakfast and was intended to provide an in-depth look at economic data.
Among the key findings was that in 2023 total jobs filled were 32,849, still below 2019 levels, and standing at levels from 1985-86.
There has also been a huge demographic shift in the jobs filled with people aged over 45 accounting for 54.8 per cent of employees.
International business share of total employment income has increased significantly, and total jobs in the accommodation sector are down 66 per cent over the past 30 years, the presentation showed.
The number of registered taxis has decreased 12.5 per cent. Since 2015, there has been a big fall in the number of new homes being built. (See panel for more statistics).
Giving the presentation, chamber president Marico Thomas said: “I know I’m repeating it, but it’s really important that everybody changes the language when we talk about things that are going to make a meaningful difference.
“We have to figure out how to make compromises that make a difference so that we can compete against the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and everybody else.”
He said he felt that “not everyone is on the same page” and added about the presentation: “This is a start to try to get us on the same page. The goal here is to make things meaningful, make change, and then, let’s go.”
Total jobs filled in Bermuda:
• In 2023, total jobs filled was 32,849, still not returned to 2019 levels. This stands at levels from 1985-86
• In 2022, total jobs by Bermudians, spouses and PRCs was 24,603. This is at 1981-82 levels of jobs
• Local employment constituted 77 per cent of jobs in 2019-22, an increase from 74 per cent in 2008, down from 80 per cent in 1990-2000
Demographic shift in jobs filled:
• In 1999, 35 per cent of jobs were under 35 years old and 35.8 per cent were over 45 years old
• In 2022, 21.6 per cent of jobs were under 35 years old and 54.8 per cent were over 45 years old
Sources of employment income:
• International business share of total employment income has increased from 11.6 per cent in Q4 1997, up to 34.5 per cent in Q2 2023, an increase of 22.9 per cent
• Total employment income in 1997 across all sectors was $1.35 billion. In 2008, total income was $3.18 billion. In 2019, total income was $3.59 billion. In 2022, total income was $3.8 billion
Growth of international business:
• There has been a significant growth in international business from 2019 through to 2023
• There has been a total of 984 jobs, or 25 per cent growth since 2019, with 441 non-Bermudian jobs, or 33 per cent growth
• The jobs filled in 2023 are estimates from the National Economic Report
Tourist accommodation trend:
• From 1993 through to 2023, total room count is down 2,295 rooms, or 56.6 per cent
• Through 2022, total jobs in the accommodation sector is down 2,937, or 66 per cent over the past 30 years
• There is a close correlation between the jobs filled and the available room count
Average monthly air arrivals:
• During the financial crisis in 2007 to 2009, there were approximately 19 guest accommodations that closed
• After the Covid reopening, Bermuda average air visitors are currently down 31 per cent, Cayman is down 15 per cent
• From 2010 to 2019, Bermuda air visitors had increased 16 per cent and Cayman increased 49 per cent
• After Covid, Cayman has 92 per cent of it pre-pandemic hotel rooms versus Bermuda having only 75 per cent open
Airlift trends:
• Bermuda air load factor is 75 per cent over past 12 months, US average is 83 per cent
• Monthly average of residents returning for July to December of 2023 was 12,821, down 13.5 per cent from the same period in 2019
• Looking forward, in 2024, scheduled seats will be 91 per cent of 2019 and in the summer months will be 94 per cent of 2019
Taxi and transport industry:
• The registered number of taxis in Bermuda has been on a decline from 2009, the market is restricted to 600 permits
• Registered taxis decreased 12.5 per cent, or 75 taxis. Minibuses and limos have increased by 107
• Over the past ten years, the average cost of fuel per journey (on 20mpg usage) is 11.3 per cent of the fare collected
New dwelling units:
• Since 2015, there has been an average of 18.7 new dwellings brought online per quarter, or 74.8 per year
• From 2002 through to 2009, there were an average of 72.25 new dwellings per quarter, or 289 per year
• Sixty-two per cent of new dwellings since 2015 have been studio or one bedrooms, with two and three-plus bedrooms being 19 per cent each
Change in construction trades:
• Construction industry job totals are down 43 per cent from 2008
• All the information can be seen in the chamber’s full in Related Media
In the presentation, Mr Thomas touched on a range of other issues, such as restaurants being unable to find bartenders, a protected job category, the rise in the cost of healthcare, retail sales and the impact of online, overseas shopping.
“We all know that during Covid that nobody could go off shopping and a lot of things happened online. There’s been efficiencies, courier services have stepped up their game and a lot of shops have made it easier to ship to Bermuda.
“How do we feel about that? What do we want to do about that? To what degree should you ‘buy Bermuda’ for the greater good? What is the greater good is the decision that you all have to make for yourselves,” Mr Thomas told the audience at the Speciality Cinema.
He said there had been a fall in employment in job categories such as book-keepers and cashiers, “which were the kind of entry-level jobs that were perceived that anybody could get”.
Jobs as assistants and secretaries have fallen as have the number of managers, the number of masons has dropped while the numbers employed in areas such as underwriters, processors and actuaries had risen significantly.
“You can see the monumental shift of industries within the Bermuda landscape. I still hear, ‘hey, expat, go home. Why do you have to be here? Why are you forcing my rents to go up?’
“I’m not saying it’s right or it’s wrong. I’m saying, what is the problem and what is the solution?”
Mr Thomas added: “We have to know what game we’re playing. We have to know what the indicators are as there are so many different ways that you can take any kind of information and spin it, but I don't know that it’s always necessarily the most healthy thing to do.
“We all have a responsibility to understand data and information so that we can interpret it ourselves instead of what somebody tells us.
“We are collectively competing against somebody else that wants to steal our thing away and our thing is tourism and international business. If those two things go, it does not make a difference what we’re arguing about because there isn’t going to be much left to argue about.”
Recently retired Bermuda College senior economics lecturer Craig Simmons, a guest at the event, said the chamber had done a “tremendous public service” by putting the information into the public domain.
“This information has to get into every nook and cranny, and that’s when we can have real discussions because people need to understand what’s going on. To my mind, this is the first time something like this has happened.
“The next thing is to get an educated discussion going on and people need to be going through this data, not just once because it will take maybe half a dozen times before it will begin to sink in.”
• For the full presentation, see Related Media.
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