DESPITE A rise in consumer and business confidence measured by surveys conducted in Jamaica by the University of Michigan, the real economy continues to suffer from the loss of jobs. The latest episode is in the garment sector involving some 2,000 free zone workers who have been given their marching orders. This seems to write finis to a sector of the economy which at one time provided employment for some 40,000 persons, most of them women and many of them single mothers. There are also job cuts at Air Jamaica as steps are taken to make its operations more efficient.
This final blow to the garment sector may well be the result of our general uncompetitiveness in an international textile market now dominated by China, but that need not be end of the story. The character in the Chinese language that means danger also stands for opportunity and it is this attitude we would like to encourage among local business operators.
Sudden shifts in an economy often provide a gateway for new enterprises and development of small businesses. Our local uniform manufacturers, for example, have had to battle the perception of imported finished goods being better.
Those who have stood their ground and fought through the difficult times have been able to expand not only locally but to export to other Caribbean islands. This can be replicated by those who are willing to think outside the box. We do not underestimate the challenges of high interest rates and other operational costs, but few enterprises that have grown into transnational firms did so by being sheltered from external wintry winds.
The job cuts have taken place against the background of serious reductions in preferential prices paid for Jamaican sugar, an industry which provides employment for the largest number of agricultural workers. The environment in which the Jamaican economy must strive to compete is changing rapidly day by day.
There needs to be a greater sense of urgency on the part of the Government and the private sector in coming to grips with change. Areas of inefficiency have to be corrected before they become chronic, resulting in a total shutdown of a business or even a sector. Operational systems and costs have to be under constant review so that necessary changes can be done, and at the same time we have to keep our eyes on our competitors to see how we can better manage our affairs.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
