Bermuda faces an impending shortage of Bermudian workers needed to sustain its economic prosperity due to a falling birth rate and a low projected population growth for the country in the next two decades.

That is according to a Bermuda Employers' Council (BEC) survey entitled 'The Shift: An Examination of Employment Trends in Bermuda'.

Presented to delegates at the BEC's Annual General Meeting held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel yesterday, it reveals the number of Bermudians filling jobs in the domestic market will not be enough to drive the Island's economic success over the next 20 years.

The report found that even at modest growth rates in the economy of one percent per year, the projected rise in the amount of jobs will lead to an inevitable drop in the percentage of Bermudians in the total workforce. It also stated that the percentage of working black Bermudians is expected to decline to less than half the workforce over time.

The survey called on employers to think about repatriating Bermudians working overseas. And it said Government's "disproportionate employment" of available Bermudians should also be considered given the negative impact it has on the availability of Bermudians in the private sector, in a bid to offset the need to import additional workers.

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