Updated

Updated · Jamaica Observer · Jul 25

Jamaica Overseas Employment Programme Rises 4.8% to 15,169 in 2025 as Canada Drives Growth

Updated

Updated · Jamaica Observer · Jul 25

Jamaica Overseas Employment Programme Rises 4.8% to 15,169 in 2025 as Canada Drives Growth

1 articles · Updated · Jamaica Observer · Jul 25

15,169 Jamaicans joined the Overseas Employment Programme in 2025, up 4.8% from 2024, according to the Planning Institute of Jamaica's Economic and Social Survey.
Canadian placements drove the increase, rising 6.9% to 9,359 and making up 61.7% of all participants, while the Canadian Farm & Factory Work Programme climbed 7.4% to 8,877.
US programmes grew a slower 1.7% to 5,810 as a 16.2% jump in the US Hospitality Programme to 1,236 offset a 1.6% drop in US Farm Work to 4,574.
The declines were tied to agricultural employers' economic pressures in the US and competition from non-traditional labour-supply countries in Canada's low-skilled stream, which fell 2.4% to 482.
Female participation rose 18.2% to 1,150, but men still accounted for 92.4% of the programme, with women forming a slight majority only in the US Hospitality Programme.

Sources

Despite record growth in overseas employment, why are women still largely excluded from the most lucrative agricultural labor programs?

Why is Jamaica celebrating a surge in overseas labor exports, and could this booming migration secretly mask a domestic employment crisis?

As Canada's seasonal worker program hits 60 years, what hidden toll does this multi-generational migration take on Jamaican family structures?

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