Remittance inflows to Jamaica jumped by 9.5% in January 2025, rising from US$246 million to US$255.5 million (roughly J$40.02 billion), based on newly launched knowledge. The rise comes as the US continues to dominate as the first supply, accounting for 69.7% of whole inflows.
Remittances, that are funds despatched by people abroad to recipients again dwelling, stay an important lifeline for a lot of Jamaican households. These transfers usually assist every day dwelling bills, comparable to meals, housing, utility payments, and occasional presents. Analysts word that will increase in remittance inflows usually sign heightened monetary want amongst recipients.
Regardless of the January rise, general annual remittance inflows dipped barely, from US$3.37 billion in 2023 to US$3.36 billion in 2024. Nevertheless, figures stay nicely above pre-pandemic ranges — Jamaica acquired US$2.41 billion in remittances in 2019. The all-time excessive got here in 2021, when inflows peaked at US$3.497 billion in the course of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the primary ten months of the 2024/2025 fiscal 12 months (April 2024 to January 2025), whole remittances remained nearly flat, ticking up from US$2.815 billion to US$2.816 billion. Transfers through remittance corporations dropped by 7.9%, shifting from US$2.453 billion to US$2.445 billion. In distinction, different varieties of remittances elevated by 8.7%, from US$362.4 million to US$371.1 million.
Past the U.S., the UK, Canada, and the Cayman Islands collectively accounted for 25.5% of remittance inflows. Different international locations made up the remaining 4.8%.
– Commercial –
The information additionally pointed to a slight contraction in remittance service operations. The variety of energetic remittance firm areas fell from 514 to 492, and the overall variety of service factors declined from 858 to 842.
