Lavern Clarke, Business Editor

The Jamaican economy declined 0.7 per cent in the October-December period, relative to the third quarter, but grew 2.6 per cent when compared year-on-year, the state agency for economic data collection reported Tuesday.

Nominally, GDP for calendar 2006 was $246.8 billion, according to revised quarterly figures supplied to the Financial Gleaner, by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, compared to $240.9 in 2005, a 2.47 per cent increase year-on-year.

A 0.7 per cent decline quarter to quarter would put the value of production in the final three months of the year at $62.08 billion.

Statin said in a press release that the productive and services sectors had higher outputs of 1.0 and 3.3 per cent respectively.

"All sectors, except manufacturing and construction/installation recorded growth," the agency said.

The decline in those sectors has tracked throughout the year, with construction bedevilled by the cement crisis that derailed building projects for weeks, and some for months.

A final quarter decline is not unusual. In the October-December 2005 period, output also declined by 0.6 per cent relative to the performance of the third quarter that year.

Slight growth

In the quarter under review, the services sector recorded slight growth of 0.4 per cent in three months, but this gain was totally eclipsed by a 2.9 per cent decline in the productive sector.

The current outturn is a reversal of the sectors' performance in the comparative fourth quarter of 2005, according to Statin, when the productive category grew 2.7 per cent from higher outputs in agriculture, forestry, mining and construction; and 2.5 per cent for services.

lavern.clarke@gleanerjm.com

Gross Domestic Product 2006

Q1$60.9 billion

Q2$61.3 billion

Q3$62.6 billion

Q4$62.1 billion

Total - $246.8 billion