CAYMAN TRENDS WITH LOW UNEMPLOYMENT AND STEADY GROWTH

Cayman continues to maintain one of the lowest unemployment rates in the region and, broadly speaking, in the Western world. At the same time, economic growth remains steady.

According to the Economic and Statistics Office, its latest labour market estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Fall 2025 show the unemployment rate at 2.6 per cent.

While this shows a slight increase of 0.4 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent for the same period in 2024, it nonetheless reflects an impressive showing, considering the pattern in other jurisdictions and countries.

The employed labour force was estimated at 63,289, and unemployment stood at 1,700, resulting in a total labour force of 64,989, an increase of 6.6% compared to Fall 2024, according to the ESO report.

With increasing attention now focused on Caymanians in the workforce - driven by the policies and campaign mandate of the ruling National Coalition for Caymanians, the report further shows that the Caymanian unemployment rate declined to 4.1 per cent in Fall 2025 from 4.6 per cent a year ago. The number of employed Caymanians was estimated at 24,358, an increase of 13.4 per cent from Fall 2024. “This resulted in higher employment among Caymanians relative to a year ago,” the ESO points out, while noting that “unemployment among non-Caymanians was higher in Fall 2025 than in the previous year.”

The LFS report also presents the population estimate for the Islands, derived primarily from administrative data, as of December 2025. The overall population stood at 90,577 in Fall 2025, up by 2.0 per cent. “This growth was driven mainly by permanent residents, whose numbers were revised upwards using administrative data to 9,061, up from 8,184 in Fall 2024.”

According to the ESO, the Caymanian population saw a more modest natural increase of 1.1 per cent, reaching 41,063, while the Non-Caymanian population increased by 1.1 per cent to 40,453, relative to Fall 2024.

Cayman’s Economy Grew by 2.8 per cent in the first nine months of 2025

Meanwhile, a just-released separate ESO report shows that the Cayman Islands’ economy continued its steady pace of expansion in 2025, recording an estimated 2.8 per cent real GDP growth in the first nine months of last year. “The performance points to a resilient service driven economy supported by firm demand pressures and ongoing investment in core sectors,” the ESO concludes.

It says growth remained broad-based, with most major sectors expanding and only one contracting over the period. General services remained a key driver of momentum, as government services increased by 4.0 per cent and health services by 5.1 per cent. “Interest in the Islands’ commercial offerings was also evident,” the ESO says, pointing to gains in several key sectors. Real estate activities rose by 3.9 per cent, business services by 3.3 per cent, and utilities by 3.0 per cent. Financing and insurance services, which remain central to Cayman’s economic base, expanded by 2.2 per cent, it noted, “reinforcing the sector’s continued strength”.

Government Finances Remain Strong

The central government posted a robust CI$86.0 million surplus for the first three quarters of 2025, driven by CI$970.4 million in revenue against CI$884.5 million in expenditure.

At the same time, the government continued to reduce its debt burden, with outstanding debt falling to CI$393.7 million as of September 2025, down from CI$421.1 million a year earlier.