Show us the numbers!

Jan 31, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News- The government through its superior management of the economy says that it has bestowed upon us—brace yourselves—sixty thousand jobs! Yes, you heard it right. Not six. Not sixty. Sixty thousand. It’s practically a biblical miracle, like feeding five thousand people with two loaves of bread—except, in this case, there’s no bread, no fish, and no one knows where the five thousand people are.

Because here’s the thing—where are these jobs? Who has them? Has anyone actually counted the new jobs created? The government is saying, Trust us. We have the jobs. But this isn’t a poker game; it’s an economy. We need proof, not a politician’s unsubstantiated word.

Let’s start with something simple: documentation. Evidence. A scrap of paper, a digital spreadsheet, an intern’s coffee-stained notepad—anything that proves these jobs exist. But no. Not even NIS registrations to give us a clue.

The Labour Force Survey, that handy little thing that tells us how many people are working, has been missing in action since the third quarter of 2021. That’s nearly three years without an update!

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I lose something—say, my keys—I at least go looking for them. But the government? No such luck. Either they misplaced the data, or it never existed to begin with. And honestly, I’m not sure which is worse.

Sixty thousand jobs. That should leave a mark, right? A dent in the unemployment rate, a spike in labour force participation—something. But no, the numbers are playing hard to get.

Let’s rewind to September 2021, when unemployment stood at 14.5%. Not great, but in fairness, the country was still fighting COVID-19. Fast forward to today: the economy is roaring, the fastest growing in the world, and yet—we still have no clue what the national unemployment rate is. The Budget 2025? Silent. The Ministry of Labour? Mute. The Bureau of Statistics? Playing dead.

And then there’s the World Bank. Ah yes, that pesky institution with its inconvenient data. Their records show that, as of the end of 2023, the labour force was 291,050 people. Compare that to 2018, when it was 306,347. You see the problem? If 60,000 jobs were created, why is the labour force smaller? Especially when we have so many immigrants in the country. Is it migration of our nationals? Where did all the workers go? Were they abducted by aliens? Recruited for a secret government project? Retired to a tropical island funded by oil money that nobody else seems to have access to? Something doesn’t add up.

Now, maybe—just maybe—these 60,000 jobs aren’t new jobs. Maybe they’re replacement jobs. You know, one person leaves, another takes their place. That’s not job creation—that’s musical chairs. But the government isn’t clarifying.

One person even claimed that 60,000 jobs were created in housing alone. Housing! What is this—Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs? Are we building pyramids? Are there that many houses going up? Because last time I checked, cement is expensive, and contractors still have a shortage of skilled workers.

But again, no verification. No labour force survey. No nothing.

Here’s the thing about employment—it’s measurable. It’s not a ghost. It’s not an urban legend. It’s not Bigfoot. People either have jobs or they don’t, and there’s data to prove it. Unless, of course, you’re deliberately hiding it.

Why the secrecy? What’s being concealed? If the government really had the numbers, wouldn’t they be shoving them in our faces, silencing critics once and for all? Instead, all we get are vague pronouncements, empty boasts, and an eerie silence from the institutions that are supposed to be tracking this.

Sixty thousand jobs should leave a trace. A footprint. A ripple. Something. But there’s no NIS registration surge. No labour force increase. No published surveys.  Without an increase in the labour force, creating 60,000 jobs would imply zero unemployment. Because by September 2021, there was almost 42,000 unemployed persons.

A government should be transparent. Employment isn’t a slogan. It isn’t a campaign jingle. It isn’t a rumor whispered. It’s real people, real salaries, real work. And until the government can prove that these 60,000 jobs are more than just a figment of their imagination, skepticism is the only reasonable response.

So, dear leaders, show us the numbers. Until then, we remain unconvinced.

Sixty thousand jobs? Prove it.

(Show us the numbers!)

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this newspaper.)

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• economy says, jobs, NIS registrations, Peeping Tom, two loaves of bread

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