Jamaica’s poverty rate has declined.

It moved from 16.7 per cent in 2021 to 8.2 per cent in 2023.

According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), this reduction represents the lowest rate recorded since poverty rates were first measured in 1989.

Director General of the PIOJ, Dr. Wayne Henry, presented the data during the quarterly press briefing this morning.

In addition to this national decline in poverty, Dr. Henry reported a record decline in the food poverty rate, also referred to as extreme poverty.

He attributed the decline to Jamaica’s strong post-COVID rebound, increased employment levels, an estimated 86 per cent growth in the national minimum wage, and the enactment of strengthened social protection programmes, among other things.