The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

AVERAGE weekly wages in the Bahamian hospitality sector rose by 20.8 percent in 2023, with men earning an average of $548 per week and women $540, according to a newly released Bahamas National Statistical Institute report.

The increase came as the sector experienced an 18 percent reduction in employment in New Providence, with 2,664 fewer workers in accommodation and food service activities compared to 2022.

Service and sales workers, the largest occupational group, saw a 10.5 percent decline, losing 545 employees. Elementary occupations, accounting for 27.4 percent of hospitality jobs, experienced a larger decrease of 21 percent, or 883 fewer employees. The reasons for these changes were not clear.

According to the report, managers continued to earn the highest average weekly wages, at $1,102 — $148 more than in 2022 — followed by professionals in science and engineering, who earned $895. At the lower end of the wage spectrum, plant and machine operators earned $404 weekly.

Employees in the hospitality sector worked an average of 40 hours per week, with no significant differences in hours between men and women.

The overall average wage in the sector reached $544.