Employment numbers in the December 2022 quarter increased by 0.6% on a year-on-year basis.
This is the first quarter of positive growth since the nation experienced negative growth since December 2019 due to the impacts of measles and Covid-19 which mainly affected industries such as accommodation, restaurants, commerce and transport to name a few.
The Samoa Bureau of Statistics pointed out the opening of Samoa’s international borders in August 2022 triggered the economy’s recovery, especially in terms of employment in all its respective industries in the economy.
“Positive growth in employment in the September 2022 quarter is an indication that the nation’s economy is slowly reverting back to its former pre-pandemic state, especially in industries such as Accommodation, Business Services, Restaurants and Transport.
“Wages and Salaries for the reviewed quarter recorded an increase of 0.8% which amounted to $144.3 million over the corresponding December 2021 quarter. This was influenced by the increase in wages and salaries of industries such as Accommodation, Commerce and Public Administration.
The fluctuating trend in the quarterly employment index as well as its year-on-year change from December 2019 to December 2022.
“Index in terms of employment continues to peak during the September quarters; the quarter under review although its index is lower than the previous quarter, its level is higher compared to the same quarter of the previous years.
“The employment Index recorded an increase of 0.6% in December 2022 compared to the same quarter of the previous year whilst a decline of 0.8% was recorded for the reviewed quarter compared to September 2022. The percentage change in employment on a year-on-year basis the fluctuation in growth from December 2019 up until June 2022 quarter.
“Employment in terms of growth continued to move upwards from that point forth which is in line with the Government’s move to open the nation’s international borders in August 2022.
This move is better reflected by the increasing growth in industries such as Accommodation, Business services, Restaurants, Transport, Health, Finance services, Public administration, Other services and Commerce with their contributions of 35.9%, 9.1%, 5.9%, 2.5%, 1.0%, 0.8%, 0.5%, 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.
