Two Realities: Rising Incomes, Falling Earnings for the Underemployed

Belize’s latest labor figures are telling a mixed story, more money in pockets for some, but less stability for others. The Statistical Institute of Belize says overall monthly income is up, driven by workers putting in more hours. But dig a little deeper, and a different picture emerges. Underemployed Belizeans, those not getting enough work, are now earning over four hundred dollars less than they did at the start of 2025. It’s a gap that raises fresh questions about job quality, not just job numbers.

 

Christian Orellano, Manager, Statistical Institute of Belize

“The one that saw the biggest decrease was under employment.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Saw a decrease of how much?”

 

Christian Orellano

“It decreased from one thousand nine dollars to six hundred and three dollars.

Mainly it was attributed because of the number of hours that the under unemployed works.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Overall there is an increase, according to the summary, twenty-seven dollars, average monthly increase. How do we explain that increase?”

 

Christian Orellano

“It is mostly because of the formal employment that saw the increase and we have one more hour worked overall.”

 

We will have more for you from the SIB’s findings in a subsequent newscast.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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