THE pace of growth in the local economy slowed in the first half of this year to 2.9 per cent as the country completed the recovery from the pandemic-induced decline and settle down to lower rates of expansion.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), who revealed the preliminary data for the country’s growth over the January to June period of this year, on Thursday said the services industry led with growth of 3.5 per cent followed by the goods producing industry which marginally grew by 1 per cent.

“The industries which were estimated to have recorded the largest increases during the first half of the year were mining and quarrying, up 137.7 per cent; hotels and restaurants, up 18.5 per cent; other services, up 11.4 per cent and transport, storage and communication, up 6.1 per cent,” PIOJ Director General Dr Wayne Henry said during a quarterly briefing held yesterday.

The April-June quarter, which saw growth of some 1.5 per cent, was driven by grow

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/economy-grows-2-9-in-6-months/