Former Prime Minister Perry Christie.
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
SEEKING to energise supporters as the party gears up for its first convention in eight years, Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday declared that his administration has created nearly 32,000 jobs this term.
Mr Christie said the figure was supported by data released from the Department of Statistics, and evidenced that the country was on the path to recovery notwithstanding the devastation wrought by two major hurricanes.
He made the statement during a speech to supporters at a prayer breakfast at the Melia hotel to mark the start of the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) 52nd national general convention.
“No matter what they say about the Progressive Liberal Party, let the statistics put out by the Statistics Department speak for us,” Mr Christie said. “We have created since we came to power, notwithstanding the challenges of the economy, over 31,000 jobs.
“Near to 32,000 jobs and counting, and we did not count the 1,500 that will be hired between January and February right in this complex here, and by December will be up to 3,000, we’re not counting them, but they will be counted,” he said, referring to anticipated hiring from the Baha Mar resort’s planned opening in April.
“So the country has every indication before them that we are on the path to recovery as a country and notwithstanding Hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew, we have been able to by the grace of God begin our recovery from the devastation of those hurricanes.
“When we go into convention we will be mixing with our brothers and sisters from the islands,” he said. “Let us leave our convention united in spirit. Recognising that oceans separate us, but that this spirit of which I speak connects us as Bahamians, connects us as Progressive Liberal Party supporters, and connects us as citizens who are going to empower the candidates for the PLP to win the next general election and go on to continue to serve the people of the Bahamas in the best possible way.”
According to official figures released by the Department of Statistics, the number of employed persons grew from 160,650 in May 2012 to 192,385 in October 2016, the last time the Labour Force Survey was carried out, representing an increase of 31,735 employed persons.
The latest Labour Force Survey, released last month, also indicated the unemployment rate between October 24-30, 2016 was 11.6 per cent, a 1.1 per cent decline from the last review in May of that year.
The decline came as hundreds of Bahamians gained employment in the construction sector after Hurricane Matthew’s devastating impact.
Critics have accused the department of including temporary jobs in its tally and DOS officials could not assess the quality of the jobs created in the time between the two most recent surveys, such as whether they are likely to be stable jobs.
However, Leona Wilson, the acting director of the DOS, admitted in December that an unemployment rate decline would not have taken place if it were not for the construction jobs created in the wake of the powerful storm, Hurricane Matthew.
The Christie administration’s 52-week job programme also contributed to the unemployment rate decline, benefiting mostly young people, although officials were unable to say how many people have been employed through the programme.
The PLP’s 30,000 jobs boast was first introduced in Parliament during the 2014/2015 Budget Debate by Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson.
Mr Gibson had told parliamentarians that he obtained the employment information from the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) contribution records at the request of Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis. Mr Gibson said the collection of NIB contributions was one of “a few ways we can tell how many jobs are operating in the Bahamas.”
“A new company would have to register for National Insurance and then as you have various employees being hired by various companies who have to pay contributions for them,” Mr Gibson said in June 2014.
“(Mr Davis) asked me, why don’t you go to National Insurance, ask them for a list of all the companies that registered since May 7, 2012, ask them for a name list of the persons who companies took off their payroll six months prior to May 7, 2012 and then give me the list of all of the individuals, the new employees the companies start to contribute for between May 2012 and May 2014?
“Mr Speaker you know what we came up with? We had 43,000 persons who companies began paying contributions for the first time since May 7, 2012. Then we did a cross-reference as we said ‘hold on a second now’ because there were some persons who came off the payroll and we did the exercise and we got 13,000. So 13,000 from 43,000 leaves 30,000. So we had approximately 30,000 persons between May 2012 and May 2014 who are employed today who were not employed prior to that time.”
Mr Gibson later clarified that the job figures he announced in the House of Assembly were a “mixture” of previously unemployed people and those who were employed, but had transferred to new companies from their current jobs.
Two weeks prior during his 2014/2015 Budget Communication, Prime Minister Perry Christie confirmed to parliamentarians that during his administration’s first two years in office, labour market conditions improved slightly with 2,600 jobs added to the Bahamian workforce.
Mr Christie explained at the time that employment figures, which covered six months of the year 2013 up to November, resulted in a lowered jobless rate. That rate, he said, fell to 15.4 per cent from 16.2 per cent overall.
Comments
banker 7 years, 2 months ago
Wow, I am impressed. That means that we have full employment. Hallelujah!! All that it took was selling the country to the Chinese and lining PLP pockets.
Prime Minister Crisco Butt is also curing the world, because laughter is the best medicine, and his claims evoke hilarious laughter so vigorous, that it actually hurts. I may love to shop, but I am not buying his bullshiite. He must need a licence to be that ignorant and put out such blatant lies.
Crisco Butt is a cancer on the soul of the Bahamas.
realfreethinker 7 years, 2 months ago
banker I had a hearty laugh also when I saw this shit. The unemployment rate should be 0% and most people should have a second job. This asshole is just fu.k..g delusional
Economist 7 years, 2 months ago
If, and that is a big if, there really were 32,000 new jobs created
Number of new jobs required to keep up with population approximately 25,000. Real extra jobs created 7,000.
Reality is probably not more than one or two thousand new jobs. Never able to create the 10,000.
sealice 7 years, 2 months ago
the figure was supported by data that claimed start lying about shit from now until the convention ..... if you repeat the lie enough the people will believe it just like they did the last (2) elections.....
SP 7 years, 2 months ago
.............................. '32,000 Extra Jobs Since 2012' For WHO? ..................................
Haitians, Filipinos, Africans, Indians, Jamaicans and Latino's LOVE their champion, PM Perry Gladstone Christie who empowered them with more economic advancement and a better standard of living in Bahamas than they could ever possibly imagine in their own countries!
Christie and Gibson need to quantify their statements and tell the electorate how many of these mystical jobs and new business's went to foreigners!
As far as Bahamians are concerned, PM Christie and his PLP guided the Bahamas to 4 successive S&P downgrades to JUNK STATUS in18 months, making them the only government in history to have done so.
http://www.caribbean360.com/news/stan...">http://www.caribbean360.com/news/stan...
Contrary to PM Christie's fictional picture, the Bahamian economy will only grow by 0.3 per cent this year, down from the 1.2 growth projected back in April. “The erosion of the Bahamas’ creditworthiness reflects these growing vulnerabilities within a context of a weak external position with growing levels of external debt, double-digit unemployment, high non-performing loans in the banking system, and high household indebtedness,”.
Under Christie's leadership the country is now undoubtably in serious crisis. No amount of "book cooking stew" will change the reality that Christie UTTERLY FAILED the Bahamas and Bahamians!
SP 7 years, 2 months ago
..“Make The Lie Big, Make It Simple, Keep Saying It, And Eventually They Will Believe It”..
John 7 years, 2 months ago
Notice the headin, " 32,000 extra jobs.". Does this mean that the PLP created 32,000 jobs in addition to the 5,000 new workers (school leavers) that come into the work force each year. Does this mean that they created 87,000 new jobs since coming to office or 17,500 (yes Seventeen Thousand, Five Hundred) jobs each year since coming to office? Then of course if you counting extra jobs, you don't have to discount the number of persons who retire or otherwise leave the workforce. they have simply been replaced. So in his own words this is "absolute rubbish." "Utter nonsense". But we did hear that the number of public service workers has increased by 4,500 since the PLP came to office in 2012. And maybe the prime minister is counting the temporary, one week jobs created by carnival and others created for hurricane relief and clean up. Fortunately many of the hurricane repair and restoration worker both in new providence and Grand Bahama are still employed, though many property owners who suffered damage do not have funds to do repairs and some are still wrangling with insurance companies to get claims paid. What the pm should do is follow the lead of Donald Trump. Call up friends, family and supporters who own businesses and try to encourage them to take on more workers. Reach out to businesses as a community (small and medium especially) and determine what their hardships are and see what efforts government can make to cause doing businesses in the Bahamas less costly and less difficult. Unfortunately Mr. Prime Minister, many businesses are coming to the reality is that they have to close shop, lock their doors, dismiss their workers and cut their losses. just look at the stores that have closed since Christmas, and this is still January. Donald Trump understands the importance of small and medium businesses and has promised to escue them in the US. Real Talk: Another 6,000 school leavers are about to hit the job markets in a few short months. (June, which will be the month after elections). They would love to have one of the extra jobs the prime minister is talking about. Me too!
themessenger 7 years, 2 months ago
Sigh...........I suppose that, technically, selling food at Carnival, cleaning roads and verges and standing in front of a microphone trying to bullshit the public classifies as a job.
Alex_Charles 7 years, 2 months ago
the Fuhrer Said the same things... Say some Bull enough times and it becomes the real narrative. I truly hope within my heart we as Bahamians don't fall for it. :(
I want to have hope, I really do, but it's hard to not simply give up.
ted4bz 7 years, 2 months ago
We are wasting the little time we have left distracting each other talking about these big shot, tefin, mind bogging, distracting, waists of time politicians. LETS NOT: 1: Let's not talk about what Christie and his elves have to say. We all know they talk nonsense. So we don't need to be convinced. 2. Let's not talk about Christie and the rest of his elves and what they are doing. We already know they are up to no-good. So we don't need to be informed. LETS: 1. Let's talk about what we need to do and what we need to do together: 2. Let's unify #wematch good we are doing that 3. Let's organize ourselves into communities, committee and action oriented groups. 4. Let's coordinate our efforts and our plans to take our country back, to reform each and every area of it, how it is to function to suit all the Bahamian people alike.
MOVING FORWARDS 1. Seriously, we need to move away from the weak idea that dominates our mind such as political parties are the only means and alternative to governing this country, nonsense. And 50 years of NONSENSE is enough.
Let's talk about what's worth talking about.
John 7 years, 2 months ago
You have to spell "Fook" with a capital 'F.' It is the name of a company.
licks2 7 years, 2 months ago
I would not even pay this PM no mind with this statement! I een into him. . .lets talk about something else. . .something that makes sense! Suck teeth!!
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 2 months ago
LIAR LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE! We know Crooked Christie believes (and wants all of us to believe) that he actually created 500,000,000,000 new private sector jobs!! What he should be saying though is that he has put onto the backs of already over burdened, honest and hardworking Bahamian taxpayers 32,000 new very low paying (very high paying in the case of his crony friends and key PLP supporters) non-productive government jobs, and that's probably a most conservative estimate on the part of Crooked Christie!!!!!
licks2 7 years, 2 months ago
The recent down grade blatantly says he is lying! If the jobs were so we would not have this down grade!
TalRussell 7 years, 2 months ago
Comrade Mr. Speaker, you know what my Minister Labour/National Insurance and my Deputy Prime Minister wouldn’t admit coming face-to-face with…. The difference between 32,000 extra steady paycheques that can full up a Super Value groceries buggy once a week, and 32,000 paycheques that only fulls up basket groceries…. And, a basket of even fewer groceries - after Numbers Gambling is deducted off the paycheques.
by TalRussell
viewersmatters 7 years, 2 months ago
32000 jobs create by the Christie administration within a 5 year term, 20000 plus went directly to the Chinese while Bahamian got left with the dog bone. Want let's talk about facts and statistics let talk about how many jobs were lost due to PLP starting off with the 2000 plus workers let go by Bahama which cause more numbers to unemployment oh and let's not forget the sub contractor at Bahama who also lost their jobs due to the PLP including constructions EMPLOYEES, private stalls and shops inside Bahama that had hundreds employ for the openin so sum it all together that's over 5000 plus workers who saw an end to employment, Sandals scheme that saw hundreds of workers sent home unexpectedly due to a secret negotiation held by the government, Ocean club that also saw hundreds of workers went home unexpectedly which the Government knew was coming but the workers was blind sited that's just a few to start off with. Speaking about adding temporary jobs let's talk about the effect that saw more people added back to the unemployment list after carnival, yes vote campaign and also the hundreds of contractor workers who also work to repair the effect of the hurricanes many of them who are now finished and out looking for work so one must say has the PLP done more harm than good?
John 7 years, 2 months ago
Hold on, But WAIT! Maybe the PM is on point and being truthful. Bah Mar claims that only a thousand persons applied for their 1,500 jobs and only another 500 inquired about them. So that explains it. Everyone is employed!
SP 7 years, 2 months ago
Newly elected POTUS Donald Trump Shows Lame Brain Christie How It Should Be Done!
Virtually overnight Mr. Trump is having talks with business leaders to actually identify ways for making it easier to do business in America.
Despite being a successful businessman himself with $billions to prove it, Donald Trump very wisely consulted with business leaders to ASK their input on growing the US economy!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/p...">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/p...
Unlike smart ass PM Christie and his Cabinet of dumb jackass's, majority of whom never ran a business, but are proven experts extraordinaire at red tape, bottlenecks, and road blocks, with not enough sense between the lot of them to consult businessman and entrepreneurs to find out what needs to happen to grow the economy.
After 2012 election the OPM was literally flooded with well funded proposals for a multitude of projects and business ventures ALL of which were denied by bungling Christie.
PM Christie can't blame anyone but himself for such short sighted, greedy, stupidity.
asiseeit 7 years, 2 months ago
Stop lying and say it straight, the only thing extra since 2012 are taxes and the amount of graft and corruption. You and your are happy happy while the rest of The Bahamas gets Fooked. Yinna just the same as the ones you replaced 50 years ago if not worse.
John 7 years, 2 months ago
Y'all watch this dead closely. Watch what they are doing with gas and electricity prices. Not only here in the Bahamas but worldwide. They are resetting the ratio of gas and electricity prices to that of a barrel of oil. When oil was $155.00 a barrel Bahamians were paying $5.33 give or take for a gallon of gas and the fuel surcharge on your light bill was about 1/3 of the bill. Today with oil pegged at $53.00 a barrel, gas is $4.29 a gallon and climbing and the fuel surcharge is sometimes more than the electricity charges on your light bill. So what happens if oil goes up to $100.00 a barrel? YOU, Mr. or Ms consumer will be paying close to $10.00 for a gallon of gas and your electricity bill will DOUBLE!!! And if oil prices go back up to $153.00 you will be paying $15.00 for a gallon of gas and the fuel surcharge will be 75-80% of your electcrity bill. Meaning most small and medium businesses will be wiped out and the average person will not be able to afford to drive a car or keep his lights on at home. This is a plan they were trying to implement from the 1980's and that is why they are discouraging solar power and making it so difficult for altenative sources of energy. The Bahamas can easily supply 80% of its energy needs with solar power. But guess what, the big energy companies loses out on the $billion dollar energy bill. So what they do/ make energy (BPL) as scarce as possible and have you paying out of your ears and nose for it..(arse too then). So the consumer is so duped into thinking there is an energy shortage or it is so expensive to produce..they buy into it...and pay for it...drive around the island..half the homes in the low and middle class areas are in complete darkness at night trying to manage that electricty. America alone has enough oil to run the world for at least 100 years..and that not even mentioning their coal reserves.
hallmark 7 years, 2 months ago
Alternative Facts from the P.M. Lol! Bahamar was bragging today that they have now received over 6000 applications for the 1500 jobs. These must be the last few unemployed people.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 2 months ago
Citing job creation numbers without citing the increase or decrease in unemployment and discouraged workers presents an incomplete picture. Precisely why nothing gets resolved in the country, the government continues to operate on the basis of what they want to hear. Look at the downgrade to junk status, they don't want to hear it so nothing is wrong, the country is doing wonderfully.
Also is the statement "the government created 32,000 jobs" really correct? Did the "government" add 32,000 people to its payroll or did private individuals invest money to employ people? If RBC hired 300 people since 2012, other than the rules and regulations under which the company operates, those hires have little to do with the government
Sickened 7 years, 2 months ago
I personally would have gone with 68,000 new jobs simply because its a bigger number and that would make his supporters even prouder.
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