Sunday, November 1, 2026
A year after Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever to strike Jamaica directly, the numbers show a country knocked back but rebuilding. A World Bank-coordinated assessment put the damage at about US$8.8 billion, roughly 41 per cent of 2024 GDP. The economy shrank 7.1 per cent in October to December 2025, 5.9 per cent in January to March 2026 and 2.9 per cent in April to June, and the PIOJ says output could return to pre-storm levels as early as April to June 2027. Building is leading the way: cement production was up 56.8 per cent in the latest quarter.
Much of the weight is being carried from abroad. Remittances reached US$3.49 billion in 2025, the second-highest on record and about 15 per cent of GDP, two-thirds of it from the United States. At home, visitor arrivals to the end of August were 17 per cent below the same period of 2025, and STATIN’s July survey counted 1.419 million people in work, 21,900 fewer than a year earlier. With new roofs going up on money sent from overseas, how steady is a recovery that balances on someone else’s pay packet?
In soft, muted washes, a towering heap of zinc-roofed houses, cement bags, money bags and a piggy bank teeters on the point of a giant percent sign marked “REMITTANCES”, a small flag reading “REBUILDING” fluttering on top. Below, tiny figures trudge towards it under weights labelled “TOURISM -17%” and “21,900 FEWER JOBS”, with green hills, palms and a zinc fence behind.
Read more: One Year After Melissa, the Numbers Show a Jamaica Knocked Back but Rebuilding
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