And while unemployment inched up - the Gross Domestic Product showed encouraging growth in the first quarter of 2018. It's only 1.8%, but for the past two years, first quarter GDP growth has been less than 1%.
SIB Statistician Angelita Campbell explained that the tertiary or service sector, mainly tourism, fuelled economic growth:..
Angelita Campell - Statistician II
"Belize produced goods and services totaling 756.9 million dollars indicating an increase of 13.1 million or 1.8 percent when compared to the same period of last year. The primary industry which accounts for almost one-tenth of the country's economic activity decreased by 10.9 million dollars or 11.9 percent. Within this sector we have agricultural hunting and forestry going down by 8.2 percent or 6.7 million dollars. We see the sugar cane production going down by 4.6 percent as a result of factory down time while we have citrus and banana going down by 19.3 percent and 19.5 percent respectively. Fishing also went down by 44.3 percent or 4.2 million and this is seen in 290 thousand less pound of shrimp being exported, 90 thousand less in conch being exported and 100 thousand less in pounds of whole fish being exported."
"Now we're looking closer at the beverage production, as stated before beverage went down by 7.4 percent and this can be seen in a 16.5 percent drop in soft drinks production which is largely due to competition from imports and market demand. We see beer production going down by less than 1 percent and this was strictly due to market demands. The tertiary industry which accounts for more than half of Belize's total economy increased by 20.3 million or 4.6 percent. Within the tertiary sector we saw hotel and restaurant industry increasing by roughly 20 percent or 6.6 million. Within the same sector we have overnight visitors actually going up by 22.5 percent, cruise visitors going up by 4.6 percent and room revenue also went up by 33.5 percent."
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