Guyana’s unemployment rate is 10.7%, according to Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir, who admits that the figure is high, but says it represents a good performance in the region.
Nadir, who was at the time addressing the closing ceremony for the Secondary Schools’ Work Study attachment on Tuesday at the Tower Hotel, said that the unemployment rate had actually fallen from 11.7%.
“Many countries have had an increase in unemployment rate but we have seen a decrease in the unemployment rate,” he was quoted as saying by the Government Information Agency (GINA). He also said that ministry needs to find ways to decrease the unemployment rate among young people and women.
According to GINA, over the August school vacation, 30 students were engaged in the Work Study programme at the ministry. For several years, after the sitting of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations, many students have participated in work study attachments at various agencies and ministries. The five-week stint allowed students from schools such as North Georgetown, St Joseph and Cummings Lodge to mesh skills learned at school with those in the work place.
A ministry representative informed the students about the various Labour Acts and urged them to familiarise themselves with them before venturing out into working world. They were introduced to the laws in a session titled the ‘Labour Laws and You.’ Some students will be offered employment at the ministry.
