By Elvin Bailey
THERE is a lot of discussion, some informed, some pure guesses, about the state of the economy of St. Kitts and Nevis in these trying times. At Social Security, because of the work we do and our sensitivity to working conditions and so on, we are uniquely placed to feel the pulse of the economy. I will present some data to help guide the pundits as they pontificate on the state of the nation.
Up to the end of June, 2009, we have seen 760 persons register to become members of the system; 139 of them as employers of themselves. I will remind readers that one has to be in gainful employment, however temporary, in order to qualify to become an Insured person. Meanwhile 154 businesses either started or started afresh, but 87 of previously existing businesses closed shop. Therefore, there was a net gain of 67 businesses, excluding those that are self owned and operated.
Persons found work in almost all areas, with Government & Statutory Bodies employing 129 of them (or 21%), wholesale/retail trades (114 or 18%), construction (85 or 14%), hospitality sector (82 or 13%) and Community, Social & Personal Services (50 or 8%). These were the main areas. Those who employed themselves did so in the wholesale/retail trades (31 or 22%), in community, social & personal services (28 or 20%) construction (18 or 13%), in real estate (16 or 12%) and in agriculture (13 or 9%) as the top five areas of endeavour. Why these areas have shown such buoyancy can be debated over drinks at your favourite refreshment area as you continue to stimulate the economy over drinks and a meal. To help guide your talk, the ILO definition of Community, Social and Personal Services includes laundry, hair & beauty salon, funerary services, locksmiths.
The new business ventures were mostly in construction (39 or 30%), wholesale/retail trades (19 or 15%), hotels/restaurants (16 or 12%), home domestics (14 or 11%) and in real estate (11 or 9%). Those who started afresh were found only in construction (15 or 60%), in retail trades (5 or 20%), home domestics (3 or 12%) and community, social and personal service (2 or 8%). The going proved to be too tough for 33 construction firms (38% of all closures), 11 small shops (13% of closures), 10 homes with maids (11%), 7 realtors (8%) and 6 restaurants (7%). Notice that as some doors closed, others were opened. Sounds familiar?
The economy was strong enough to generate EC$33,214,709 in contributions during the first half of the year, with the self employed representing just over $0.53million. Historically, this period generates 49% of our contribution income. (Recall that this represents 11% of wages up to the $6,500.00 per month ceiling). You should be able to deduce, based on the earlier part of this discussion, which sectors were most influential.
Social Security helped too by injecting EC$19,662,677 into the economy. Of this, EC$14,393,929 was for pensions of all kinds, and the remaining EC$5,268,748 was for short term benefits, mostly wage replacement.
So if anyone were to ask you about growth in the garden of St Kitts and Nevis, you now know how to answer. It is in part for these types of questions that Social Security exists. Take comfort from that.
On behalf of the Social Security institution, I hereby place on record our profound thanks to all those employers who have done what they are supposed to do, and to all those employees who have diligently followed through on their obligations. Now is the time for the tough to keep on going.
Thanks again.
