STATIN confirms Jamaica's GDP fell 7.1 per cent in the Hurricane Melissa quarter

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica has confirmed that the country’s GDP contracted by 7.1 per cent during the quarter that absorbed Hurricane Melissa, the deepest single-quarter contraction the island has recorded outside the pandemic shock. Reported through The Gleaner this week, the figure provides the first hard read on what Melissa cost in production, not just in damage assessments.

The drop is broad-based. Agriculture, tourism receipts, and goods-producing industries all took simultaneous hits during the storm window. Secondary effects — port disruption, power outages stretching into weeks for some parishes, displacement of workers from coastal employers — compounded the headline number. STATIN’s reading aligns with what remittance corridors have been signalling: diaspora transfers have stayed elevated since Melissa, holding household consumption together even as domestic output fell sharply.

Statin on The Tradewinds Brief

STATIN confirms Jamaica's GDP fell 7.1 per cent in the Hurricane Melissa quarter