Labour Ministry approves nearly 95% of applications for work permits

The Ministry of Labour turned down only 15 of the 5,717 applications it received for work permits last year.

That’s according to 2017 Economic and Social Survey for Jamaica (ESSJ), done by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and tabled in Parliament yesterday.

According to the data, 3,257 new applications for work permits and 2,460 applications for renewals were submitted to the ministry in 2017.

This represented an increase in total applications of 758.

Fourteen of the new applications were turned down and one application for a renewal.  

The ministry also approved 857 work permit exemptions, slightly down from 871 in 2016.

The survey shows that the demand for work permits was mainly for the wholesale and retail, repair of motor vehicles (986), construction and installation (570), hotels and restaurant services (454).

The majority of the permits were reportedly given to professionals (2,553) and technicians (1,642).

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