Barbados economy recovered – set to register positive growth: Central Bank Governor

Barbados Central Bank Governor, Kevin Greenidge, says the country’s economy has recovered following the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greenidge told members of the media, and an online audience, that the economy grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter, which was the eighth consecutive quarter of expansion.

“Tourism drove the expansion during the quarter with improved performance in all the major source markets. Arrivals more than doubled those of the corresponding period of 2022, reaching 78 percent of 2019 or the pre-COVID levels,” the Governor said.

“This growth in tourism spilled over into the other sectors of the economy, resulting in the unemployment rate falling by 3.7 percentage points to 7.2 percent at the end of 2022, relative to 2021. This unemployment rate is the lowest on record since September 2007.”

The Central Bank is predicting that the economy will grow by between 4 and 5 percent this year.

“Continued expansion in tourism and private sector investments are key to driving this performance for the rest of 2023, while the government’s ongoing public investment programme, should provide further impetus to the economy,” Greenidge said.