OFFICIAL FIGURES are not yet in. But members of the Freight Forwarders Association are reporting a brisk increase in their business. It is professional middle-class families who are saying good-bye to Jamaica and taking their possessions with them. On average, it costs in the region of US$4,000 to ship a 20-foot container to the US and the UK and US$5,000 to Canada.
The word from one freight forwarder is that the increase in his business is mostly from young professionals in the 27 to 35 age group and from upper St Andrew. The biggest jump is for Canada which has a stringent immigration policy favouring young professionals.
'Exit interviews' are indicating that the biggest push factors are the difficult economic times and crime and violence. For the first time in the history of this country, young people with tertiary education and professional skills are facing unemployment in substantial numbers, both from a failure to obtain jobs after graduation and losing jobs in widespread redundancies. The booming economies of North America are welcoming their skills.
Crime and violence may not be at its highest level now, but its increasing randomness and its intrusion has raised the perception of personal risk among those who can afford the services of freight forwarders.
To add insult to injury, those who are leaving, like all other persons departing through the country's airports, must pay one of the highest departure taxes in the world. Jamaica has the fifth highest departure tax among popular tourist destinations. The life-line tourism industry is already in trouble from several other problems including the country's reputation for crime and violence. The country's overall tax burden is the highest in CARICOM except for Guyana, the other no-growth member.
People are voting with their feet against the policies and performance of the Government. And foreigners will increasingly opt for other warm-weather destinations, while the brightest and the best in whom the country has invested its greatest educational resources continue to leave, if things continue as they are. The cost of migration cuts both ways.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
