Prime Minister Bruce Golding has cited the current world economic conditions as the reason for his administration's failure to generate the new jobs it had promised.
"The world is going through a kind of economic turbulence that it has not seen in 50 years," Golding told journalists at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday.
"There is no country in the world that I know of which is talking about increased employment this year."
He said while most countries are facing a decline in economic growth, the Government was still trying to achieve its targets.
Investment projects
"We are endeavouring to move ahead as quickly as we can with those investment projects that are firm."
But Golding argued that many of the projects would take longer than scheduled to come on stream.
According to Golding, investors who had projects scheduled to start have had to be recalculating because of changes, including the sharp rise in international oil prices.
'Jobs, jobs, jobs' had been the mantra of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the lead-up to the 2007 general election.
At that time the JLP lashed the governing People's National Party (PNP) for its failure to create new employment.
Since taking over the Government, the JLP has announced several projects which are to come on stream but it has not managed to create the thousands of jobs it promised.
Installation ceremony
But despite the international economic challenges, the Golding administration is satisfied this has not resulted in many Jamaicans losing their jobs.
Dwight Nelson, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, told The Gleaner on Wednesday that he had no evidence to suggest any massive loss of jobs.
Nelson, however, admitted that the reorganisation of the state-run Jamaica Urban Transit Company and other state entities has led to some loss of jobs.
Last month, Opposition Spokes-man on Labour, Derrick Kellier, accused the Golding administration of being "wicked".
Kellier alleged, during his contribution to the 2008-2009 Sectoral Debate in Parliament, that more than 5,000 jobs have been lost since the JLP took over the Government.
