–growth in Guyana’s economy has created unprecedented opportunities
–Finance Minister says, points to creation of 104,000 new jobs, influx of more highly skilled professionals

RAPID economic growth in Guyana has created unprecedented opportunities for citizens, with more than 104,000 jobs generated over the past five years, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh has said.
During the recording of BBC ‘World Questions’ at the Pegasus Corporate Centre and Suites on Tuesday evening, Dr Singh was responding to questions and comments, including those related to concerns about the rising cost of living.

During the discussion, the minister said that the country’s economic expansion over the past several years has produced visible and measurable improvements in people’s lives.
He said: “[Our population] just crossed that one million mark and having just crossed the one million mark, over the last five years we have created 104,000 new jobs.”
“Even members of the private sector will tell you that jobs are being created at a rate at which one of the biggest challenges is getting workers,” he added.
The minister also pointed to broader improvements in household wealth and access to assets, noting that government initiatives have enabled thousands of citizens to acquire land and vehicles.
Dr Singh said: “In addition to the creation of jobs, we have allocated land to more than 50,000 Guyanese, we have increased disposable income so that almost 15,000 become owners of their own car every year.”
“Those are improvements that sometimes get lost, but they are very tangible and very real,” he added.
According to Dr Singh, these developments represent tangible improvements in living standards, although they may sometimes be overlooked in public discourse.
Responding to questions about workers employed in lower-skilled jobs and earning smaller salaries, from BBC’s veteran journalist Jonny Dymond, who chaired Tuesday’s programme, Dr Singh noted that such positions do not represent the full scope of the country’s evolving labour market and economy.
NEW SECTORS
He said that the emergence of new sectors, particularly oil and gas, has created opportunities for highly skilled employment that did not previously exist in the country.
“So, for example we have 6,000 persons now working in the oil and gas sector, working on the FPSO’s, working in highly skilled areas, technical areas, in jobs that that did not simply exist,” Dr Singh said.
He added that the country is also seeing a rise in the number of professionals entering fields such as engineering and architecture, as well as more people training to access these opportunities.
“We have more people working as engineers. We have people working as architects, as skilled professionals. We have more people training for these jobs,” he said.
According to recent data from the Bureau of Statistics, unemployment had dropped sharply from 12.8 per cent in 2020 to 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Data also showed a reduction in female unemployment from 14.4 per cent to under nine per cent, as gains were evident across both urban and rural areas, signalling more equitable regional development.
Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali had attributed the most recent gains to a diversified economic strategy and targeted government policies.
Dr Ali had noted that rising earnings were not confined to the oil and gas sector. He cited large increases in average wages across multiple industries: agriculture, forestry and fishing up 84 per cent; information and communication up 88 per cent; construction, 71 per cent; and arts, entertainment and recreation 114 per cent, among others.
“The steady improvement in the unemployment rate reflects stronger absorption. The reduction in youth unemployment signals better integration of young workers into the labour force. Unlike the past, unemployment rates are now almost the same across rural and urban areas,” the President had said.
He noted too, that the average earnings across major sectors grew exponentially between the first quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2024; this, he believes, speaks to the equity and balanced nature of the country’s development.
Also joining Tuesday’s panel was Opposition Member of Parliament Tabitha Sarabo-Halley; activist and businesswoman, Founder and Managing Director of Blossom Incorporated and Sispro Inc., Ayodele Dalgety-Dean; and Private Sector Commission Secretary Clinton Urling.