Dr Wesley Hughes (right), director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), speaks with Dr Peter-John Gordon, director of the economic planning and research division at the PIOJ. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Economic growth in the third quarter of the year was flat, rounding out overall growth for the first nine months of the year at a -0.3 per cent, according to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

However, Dr Wesley Hughes, director general of the PIOJ, yesterday said the performance of the local economy actually improved over the review period when compared against the previous quarter, where growth was a negative 2.7 per cent. Hughes explained that a 0.1 per cent growth in services for the third quarter helped slow the decline of the local economy, which has been affected by the shocks created by the global financial meltdown and soaring commodities prices - mainly oil and grains - which have been trending downward in recent months.

Speaking at a press conference at the PIOJ's New Kingston offices, Hughes pointed out that services grew by a minute 0.5 per cent over the nine months, while the goods-producing sector contracted by 2.2 per cent over the same period.