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Beckles challenges PM’s ‘15,000 jobs’ claim
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago /Economy & Trade

Beckles challenges PM’s ‘15,000 jobs’ claim

From Trinidad Express · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles challenged the Prime Minister's claim of creating 15,000 jobs, citing Central Statistical Office (CSO) data.
  • CSO figures indicate a nearly 6,000-job decline in the first quarter of 2026, with the unemployment rate rising to 5.4%.
  • Beckles questioned the government's job creation targets and highlighted constituent requests for employment assistance.

Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has directly challenged Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar's assertion that the government created 15,000 jobs. Beckles cited figures from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) showing a significant employment decline.

I want to ask the Prime Minister whether or not the Prime Minister stands by the figures that they have produced, 15,000 jobs delivered?

— Pennelope BecklesChallenging the Prime Minister's job creation claims.

According to CSO data, employment fell by almost 5,900 individuals between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Concurrently, the national unemployment rate increased from 4.3% to 5.4%. Beckles pointed out that women were disproportionately affected by this job loss, with female employment decreasing during the period.

Beckles questioned the government's explanation that the decline was due to seasonal employment patterns following the Christmas season. She argued that job losses spanned multiple sectors, including petroleum and gas, manufacturing, construction, and agriculture. These figures directly contradict the Prime Minister's announcement of delivering over 15,000 jobs between April 2025 and April 2026.

Books and uniforms, jobs, jobs, jobs. But this Government will have you believe that they have created so much jobs.

— Pennelope BecklesDescribing the types of assistance citizens seek at constituency offices.

The Opposition Leader also raised concerns about the government's election promise to create 50,000 jobs, suggesting the latest employment figures cast doubt on the achievability of this target. She noted that constituency offices continue to receive numerous requests for employment assistance from citizens. Beckles criticized the Prime Minister's remarks suggesting some job losses were linked to "ghost programmes," criminality, and corruption in state-funded initiatives, arguing this unfairly characterized affected workers.

I am only hoping that the women of Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, the ones who are suffering more than anybody else, are listening to what this Prime Minister is calling the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

— Pennelope BecklesExpressing concern for women affected by job losses and criticizing the Prime Minister's statements.
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Originally published by Trinidad Express. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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