Libre circulation des personnes dans la région CARICOM: Une analyse du marché du travail

Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis © International Labour Organization 2026. First published 2026. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. See: creativecommons. org/licences/by/4.0 . The user is allowed to reuse, share (copy and redistribute), adapt (remix, transform and build upon the original work) as detailed in the licence. The user must clearly credit the ILO as the source of the material and indicate if changes were made to the original content. Use of the emblem, name and logo of the ILO is not permitted in connection with translations, adaptations or other derivative works. 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Printed in Trinidad and Tobago X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 1 X Table of contents X List of figures and tables 5 X List of abbreviations and acronyms 7 X Foreword 9 X Acknowledgements 11 X Executive summary 13 X 1. Introduction 21 X 2. Methodology 23 2.1 Objectives of the study 23 2.2 Research themes 24 2.3 Methodological framework 24 2.3.1 Labour migration governance analytical framework 24 2.4 Data source 25 2.4.1 National statistics 25 2.4.2 ILO Microdata Repository 27 2.4.3 Regional modelled estimates 27 2.4.4 Mapping of stakeholders and key informants 28 2.4.5 Mapping of relevant resources 28 2.5 Limitations and considerations 29 2.6 Concepts and definitions 29 2.6.1 Statistical concepts and definitions 29 2.6.2 Glossary of terms 30 X 3. The context of free movement in CARICOM 33 3.1 Regulatory context of free movement in CARICOM 33 3.1.1 Facilitation of travel 33 3.1.2 Movement of skilled nationals 36 3.1.3 Right of establishment 37 3.1.4 Provision of services 37 3.1.5 Moving towards the full free movement of persons 37 X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 2 3.2. The Characteristics of Migration in CARICOM 38 3.2.1 International migrant stock 38 3.2.2 Intra-CARICOM migration 39 3.3 Socio-economic context in CARICOM 42 X 4. Labour market characteristics in the CARICOM region 45 4.1 The labour force 45 4.1.1 Labour force participation 45 4.1.2 Unemployment 47 4.2 Employment characteristics 49 4.2.1 Status in employment 50 4.2.2 Informal employment 52 4.2.3 Occupational skill levels 52 4.2.4 Economic activity 53 4.3. Labour market information 56 X 5. The characteristics of labour migration 59 5.1 Labour migration characteristics in the CARICOM region 59 5.1.1 Work permits 59 5.1.2 Labour market characteristics of nationals versus migrants 69 5.2 Outward labour migration from the CARICOM region 74 5.2.1 CARICOM nationals in OECD 74 5.2.2 Remittances 77 5.3 Labour market information on migrant workers 78 X 6. Labour migration governance in the CARICOM region 81 6.1 Pillar I. Strengthening labour migration governance mechanisms 81 6.1.1 Coordination of labour migration at regional and national levels 81 6.1.2 Standards that inform labour migration governance 84 6.1.3 Policy development and implementation 86 6.1.4 Policy coherence 87 6.2 Pillar II. Enhancing the protection and integration of migrant workers and their families 88 6.2.1 Fair Recruitment and the protection of migrant workers’ rights 88 6.2.2 National labour laws and social protection laws apply to migrant workers 89 6.2.3 Family reunification, and access to employment for family members and education for children 90 3 6.3 Pillar III. Supporting participation in the labour market 90 6.3.1 Skills recognition systems in CARICOM 90 6.3.2 Access to Finance 92 6.3.3 Facilitating remittances 92 6.3.4 Portability of Social Security benefits 93 X 7. Climate change and its implications for labour 95 7.1 Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change 96 7.1.1 Natural disasters 96 7.1.2 Climate-change and environmental vulnerability 98 7.2 Climate-change and environmental readiness 101 7.2.1 The regulatory context for climatechange related migration and mobility 102 7.3 The implications of climate change on labour market and labour migration 105 7.3.1 Agriculture 106 7.3.2 Tourism 108 7.3.3 Construction 109 7.3.4 Health workers 110 X 8. Recommendations for free movement in CARICOM 113 Bolster labour migration policy development and implementation 113 Strengthen coordination of labour migration at regional and national levels 113 Enhance Fair Recruitment and the protection of migrant workers 114 Support family reunification and the integration of migrant workers and their families 114 Strengthen functions for regional labour migration and its impact on economic development 115 Improve labour market information to promote evidence-based labour migration governance 115 Better understand the impacts of climatechange on labour migration 116 X References 119 X Table of contents X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 4 © MacarronXD, Adobe Stock Images 5 X List of figures and tables Figures X Figure 3.1: Composition of CARICOM arrivals per Member State, 2017 (1,000s) 35 X Figure 3.2: International migrant stock, CARICOM Member States, 2023 (thousands) 38 X Figure 3.3: Net migration rates, CARICOM Member States, 2023 (per 1,000 population) 39 X Figure 3.4: Nationals abroad in other CARICOM Member States, 2023 40 X Figure 3.5: Share of migrants from other CARICOM Member States, 2023 (%) 41 X Figure 3.6: Net migration to and from CARICOM Member States, 2023 42 X Figure 3.7: World Bank income group classifications 42 X Figure 3.8: Population growth rates, by CARICOM Member State, 2000-2025 and forecast 2025-2030 (%) 43 X Figure 3.9: GDP growth rates, by CARICOM Member State, 2010-2024 and forecast 2024-2029 (%) 44 X Figure 3.10: Labour productivity, selected regions and groups, annual-average growth 2005-2023 (%) 44 X Figure 4.1: Labour force characteristics, CARICOM region, 2000-2024 46 X Figure 4.2: Labour force participation rates, by sex and age, CARICOM region, 2000-2024 47 X Figure 4.3: Unemployment rates, regional and national, 2010-2024 48 X Figure 4.4: Unemployment rates, by sex and age, 2010-2024 (%) 49 X Figure 4.5: Employment-to-population ratios, regional and national, 2010-2024 (%) 49 X Figure 4.6: Employment-to-population ratios, by sex and age, 2010-2024 (%) 50 X Figure 4.7: Status in employment, 2010-2023 (%) 51 X Figure 4.8: Status in employment, by CARICOM Member States, latest available data (%) 51 X Figure 4.9: Informal employment rates, CARICOM region and national 52 X Figure 4.10: Occupational skill levels, by CARICOM Member State (%) 53 X Figure 4.11: Distribution of employment by broad sector group, by sex 2010-2023 54 X Figure 4.12: Distribution of employment by broad sector group, CARICOM Member States, latest available data (%) 55 X Figure 5.1: Work permits issued by issuing Member State, CARICOM and non-CARICOM nationals, 2013-2018 60 X Figure 5.2: Work permits issued to CARICOM and non-CARICOM nationals, by issuing Member State, annual-average 2013-2018 61 X Figure 5.3: Work permits issued to CARICOM nationals, by issuing Member State, by short and long-term, annual-average 2013-2018 62 X Figure 5.4a: Long-term work permits issued to CARICOM nationals, by issuing Member State and by recipient nationality, annual-average, 2013-2018 63 X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 6 X Figure 5.4b: Short-term work permits issued to CARICOM nationals, by issuing Member State and by recipient nationality, annual-average, 2013-2018 64 X Figure 5.5: Distribution of skills certificates issued by CARICOM Member States - annual average 2013-2018 65 X Figure 5.6: Distribution of skills certificates issued, by recipient CARICOM Member State and skills category, annual average over 2013-2018 66 X Figure 5.7: Skills certificates issued, by CARICOM Member State 67 X Figure 5.8: Labour force participation rate for migrants and nonmigrants, by sex, latest available year (%) 69 X Figure 5.9: Unemployment rates, migrants and non-migrants, by sex, latest available year (%) 70 X Figure 5.10: Distribution of employment by status in employment, by migration status (%) 70 X Figure 5.11: Informal employment and employment in informal units of production by migrant status - latest available data 71 X Figure 5.12: Employment by broad sector group, by migration status, latest available data 72 X Figure 5.13: Occupational skill levels, by sex and migration status (%) 73 X Figure 5.14: Share of employed migrants in OECD countries with high levels of educational attainment, by country of birth, 2015-2016 (%) 75 X Figure 5.15: Highest levels of educational attainment by CARICOM Member State - latest available data 76 X Figure 5.16: Skill mismatches of employed migrants in OECD countries, by nationality, 2015/16 77 X Figure 5.17:Personal remittances received, as a percentage of GDP, 2013 and 2023 78 X Figure 7.1: ND GAIN score, overall and for vulnerability and readiness factors, CARICOM Member States 96 X Figure 7.2: Natural disasters, frequency of events, costs and human toll, CARICOM region, 2000-2024 97 X Figure 7.3: Vulnerability, six life-supporting dimensions, and summary score for exposure, sensitivity and capacity 100 X Figure 7.4: Selected environmental readiness indices, CARICOM Member States 101 X Figure 7.5: Employment in agriculture, share of total employment, latest available data (%) 107 X Figure 7.6: Direct and indirect employment in the tourism industry, share of total employment, selected CARICOM Member States, 2019 (%) 109 X Figure 7.7: Employment in construction, share of total employment, latest available data (%) 109 Tables X Table 2.1: Summary of main sources of information for each research theme 24 X Table 2.2: Overview of available national data sources and latest year of data available 26 X Table 2.3: Data sources for comparison of labour market characteristics of nationals, CARICOM nationals and non-CARICOM nationals 27 X Table 6.1: Status of selected International Labour Standards, by CARICOM Member State 86 X Table 6.2: Summary of status of labour migration and migration policies 87 7 X List of abbreviations and acronyms ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations BLMAs Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa CANTA Caribbean Association of National training Authorities CARICOM Caribbean Community CASS CARICOM Agreement on Social Security CCH Caribbean Cooperation in Health CCL Caribbean Congress of Labour CEC Caribbean Employers’ Confederation CLMIS CARICOM Labour Market Information Systems CMPF CARICOM Migration Policy Framework COHSOD Council for Human and Social Development CPSO Caribbean Private Sector Organization CSME CARICOM Single Market and Economy COTED Council for Trade and Economic Development CQF CARICOM Qualifications framework CVQ Caribbean Vocational Qualification DTM Displacement Tracking Matrix ECEU Eastern Caribbean Economic Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GNI Gross National Income HIES Household Income and Expenditure Survey ICLS International Conference of Labour Statisticians ILO International Labour Organization IMDP Jamaica’s National Policy on International Migration and Development X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 8 IOM International Organization for Migration LFS Labour Force Survey NEET Not in employment, education or training NQF National Qualifications Framework NVQ National Vocational Qualification OE Official Estimates OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECS Organization for Eastern Caribbean States PAHO Pan American Health Organization PC Population Census RAMP Regional Approach to Migration Policy SNTA Surinamese National Training Authority TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UN United Nations UNDESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs UWI University of West Indies WHO World Health Organization 9 X Foreword The free movement of persons lies at the heart of Caribbean integration. It is a principle rooted in the founding vision of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and one that reflects directly to the region’s collective aspirations for shared prosperity, decent work, social cohesion, and resilience. In a context characterized by demographic change, skills shortages, outward migration, and accelerating climate risks, understanding how labour mobility interacts with labour market in small island developing states has never been more important. This report, Free movement of persons in the CARICOM Region: A labour market analysis, provides a timely, evidence-based examination of labour migration and labour market dynamics across CARICOM Member States. It was prepared to support the development of a CARICOM Labour Migration Policy Framework and Action Plan that compliments the ongoing formulation of the CARICOM Migration Policy Framework. Both migration and labour migration policy frameworks reflect the strong commitment of the CARICOM Secretariat, Member States, social partners, United Nations, and other partners in shaping migration governance that is orderly, rights-based, and development-oriented. The analysis and recommendations put forward by this report are based on national statistics, regional and international datasets, and extensive consultations with governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, the CARICOM secretariat, and other stakeholders. Therefore, the report provides a comprehensive picture of labour supply and demand, intra-regional migration patterns, and the institutional frameworks that govern labour migration. It highlights both the opportunities generated by free movement of persons such as skills matching and transfer, demographic adjustment, productivity gains and remittance, and deeper regional integration, and the persistent challenges including high levels of informality and precarious employment, skills mismatches, data gaps, limited coordination, and uneven implementation of relevant labour standards, among others. A distinctive contribution of this analysis is its explicit attention to climate change and environmental risks. Climate-related shocks are already reshaping livelihoods and migration decisions in the Caribbean, while also generating new and urgent labour demands, particularly in the sectors such as agriculture, tourism, construction, and health. By integrating climate considerations into labour market and migration analysis, the report underlines the need for forward-looking integrated policies that enhance resilience while protecting workers and communities. The findings buttress a central message: well-governed labour migration can be a powerful driver and enabler for realizing decent work, economic development, and regional integration, but it requires stronger coordination, better labour market information, effective skills recognition systems, and robust protection of migrant workers’ rights. Progress towards full free movement must therefore be accompanied by investments in institutions, social dialogue, and evidence-based policymaking at both national and regional levels. I would like to acknowledge the leadership and close collaboration provided by the CARICOM Secretariat as well as the valuable guidance by the Project Steering Committee, national liaison officers, social partners, and other contributors. Their collective efforts have ensured that this report is grounded in Caribbean realities and responsive to the needs of Member States. X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 10 It is our collective ambition that this analysis will serve as both a technical reference and source of evidence for strategic policymaking, informing high-level decision-making, guiding national and regional reforms, and catalysing coordinated action among Member States and the social partners, to advance the free movement of persons in a manner that is economically transformative, socially just, and fully supportive of deepening the effective functions of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy. Finally, I should recognize that this work was made possible through financial support from the Government of Canada, through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the United States Government through the Western Hemisphere Regional Migration Programme (WHP) led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). I also acknowledge the technical expertise provided by the International Labour Organization’s Employment, Labour Markets, and Youth (EMPLAB) and Labour Migration (MIGRANT) Branches. Dr Joni Musabayana Director ILO Decent Work Team (DWT) and Office for the Caribbean 11 X Acknowledgements This report was prepared under the leadership and collaboration of the CARICOM Secretariat, in particular the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The authors extend their sincere appreciation to Ms Wanya Illes, Mr Leo Titus Preville and Ms Lydia Jemmott (CARICOM) for their technical guidance and valuable contributions. They also gratefully acknowledge the support and expertise of the ILO's team: Mr Abdelmalik Muhummed, Mr Francesco Carella, Ms Resel Melville, Ms Noortje Denkers, Ms Kaliyma Boxill, Dr Joni Musabayana, Ms Vera Guseva, Ms Maria Victoria Giulietti and Ms Sara Elder. The authors wish to acknowledged strategic guidance provided by the Project Steering Committee, comprising Ms Antonio Alleyne (The University of the West Indies), Ms Sheena Mayers-Granville (Caribbean Employers’ Confederation), Ms Kariyma Baltimore (CARICOM Private Sector Organisation), Mr Marlon Anatol (Caribbean Congress of Labour), Mr Enrique de Cuba (Caribbean Employers’ Confederation), Mr Allister Mounsey (CARICOM Private Sector Organisation), Ambassador Dr. Gerard Jean Jacques (Government of Dominica) and the ILO. The report also benefited from technical inputs and support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), particularly Mr Brendan Tarnay, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), particularly Dr Clarence Henry. Sincere thanks are extended to the national liaison officers from CARICOM Member States for their essential support, guidance, and validation of this report. These officers were: Ms Barbara Williams (Antigua and Barbuda), Mr Randy Clarke (Barbados), Mr Howard W. Thompson Jr. (The Bahamas), Mr Rudy Ake (Belize), Mr Gerard Fregiste (Dominica), Mr Kelvin Pacquette (Dominica), Ms Sparkle Grenade-Courtney (Grenada), Ms Jessica Somwaru (Guyana), Ms Daynia Maragh (Jamaica), Mr Philip Mulcare and Ms Marcilla Frith-Mulcaire (Montserrat), Ms Shernel James (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Ms Grace Lawrence (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Ms Nadia Pierre Louis (Saint Lucia), Ms Liz-Ann Laidlow (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Ms Naomi Esajas-Friperson (Suriname), Ms Amanda Ramlogan Gangabisoon and Ms Rosa-Mae Whittler (Trinidad and Tobago). Final appreciation is extended to the consultants who prepared this report, Mr Richard Horne, and Emmerentia Erasmus (Empstat Ltd) whose thoughtful analysis are gratefully acknowledged. X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 12 © FAO, informal workers 13 X Executive summary This report provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and characteristics of the cross-border movement of persons in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region. The report supports the development of a CARICOM Labour Migration Policy Framework that is aligned with, and expands upon, the labour components of the forthcoming CARICOM Migration Policy Framework (CMPF). The CMPF is being developed under a whole-of-CARICOM Regional Approach to Migration Policy (RAMP) with United Nations (UN) support. The study was carried out in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat - specifically with CARICOM’s Single Market and Economy (CSME) Unit’s Directorate of Single Market and Trade – and in collaboration with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean. The report is based on research undertaken between January and July 2025 on three key themes, namely: supply and demand for labour; labour migration governance; and climate change and environmental risk. It looks at the implications of labour migration and labour migration governance on the labour market, and provides a comprehensive analysis of different economic, employment, labour and migration factors in CARICOM Member States, with a particular focus on climate change and institutional labour market governance. The report includes recommendations to improve productive and decent employment within the framework of a putative CARICOM Regional Labour Migration Policy Framework. The study was overseen by a Project Steering Committee chaired by the CARICOM Secretariat and consisting of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL), the Caribbean Employers' Confederation (CEC), the Caribbean Private Sector Organization (CPSO), the University of West Indies (UWI), the Government of Dominica (Lead head Labour, including Intra-Community movement of Skills) and the ILO. National liaison officers were identified within each CARICOM Member State to help guide and validate the report. It was prepared by Mr Richard Horne and Ms Emmerentia Erasmus on behalf of the consultancy firm Empstat Ltd. A summary of the main findings is as follows: Context of free movement in CARICOM The movement of skilled workers is one of the main drivers of labour migration under the CARICOM Free Movement regime. The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas was adopted in 2001 as a precursor to the CSME, established in 2006. (Aragón and Mawby 2019). The CSME aims to deepen regional integration and remove barriers to the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people; and to facilitate the establishment of businesses within CARICOM (Acosta and Baaren 2024; Aragón and Mawby 2019; CARICOM, n.d.-b). Under Article 45 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Member States committed to the goal of free movement within CARICOM. However, the Bahamas does not participate in the CSME (CARICOM 2017, page 6); and Haiti, while being a full Member State of the CSME (Acosta and Baaren 2024), does not have the institutional and administrative arrangements in place to facilitate free movement. However Haitian citizens are entitled to six months stay upon arrival in CARICOM Member States; may acquire a skills certificate if they meet the qualification criteria for any of the twelve approved skills categories; and are entitled to provide a service or establish a business under the CSME. There are two overarching regimes which allow for movement of persons within the CARICOM region: i) facilitation of travel; and ii) movement for economic purposes, under which the following regimes are in place: (a) movement of skilled nationals; (b) movement of service providers; and (c) right of establishment. Most migration in the region consists of CARICOM nationals leaving the region altogether, particularly for Canada, the United States and Europe. Despite this, there is still considerable intra-CARICOM movement. X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 14 In respect of migration within the CARICOM region, there are net senders (Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica), and net-receiving Member States (The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago) – with nationals from lower-income Member States moving to higher-income Member States. In fact, the economic differences in the region are stark, ranging from Haiti, with the lowest income per capita in the CARICOM region, to The Bahamas, with the highest. Haiti accounts for more than half the total population of the CARICOM region, and has not completed the internal processes to fully implement the CSME, albeit it does allow for free movement of CARICOM nationals into Haiti without restrictions. Meanwhile The Bahamas does not participate in the CSME at all. The recent discovery of oil in Guyana and Suriname is also expected to have implications for regional migration to and from these countries. Labour market characteristics of the CARICOM region There is considerable heterogeneity across different labour market variables in the CARICOM region. Around 9 million people of working age (defined here as those aged 15+) were in the labour force in 2024, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of around 64 per cent. While this has increased from around 6 million in 2000, much of this growth has been driven by Haiti, which accounts for more than half the working age population in the region. In the context of the CSME, regional averages are best considered both with and without Haiti, to reflect labour market characteristics of countries that fully partake in the CSME, and to reduce the bias driven by the size of Haiti’s population. There has been little change to the overall rate labour force participation rate in the region. However, gender gaps have been narrowing over the past two decades, and youth participation has been decreasing. The gender gap between has been narrowing due to increasing access to employment for women over time, and reduced differentials in accessing jobs between men and women. Despite this, gender gaps do persist, including in unemployment figures, reflecting barriers to employment that disproportionately impact upon women. In addition, women remain more likely to be in sectors characterised by poorer working conditions. Meanwhile, the decrease in youth labour force participation rates is likely to be reflective of more youth staying in longer in education. There are significant decent work deficits, with around three-quarters of the region’s employment estimated to be informal. However, the regional average decreases to around 50 per cent once Haiti is removed from the totals, where almost nine out of ten workers are in informal employment. Informal employment means that workers fall outside the scope of legal and regulatory provisions, and while this can apply to all sectors, certain sectors are more likely to affected than others, in particular agriculture and small-scale services. Informally employed workers are often not eligible for social protection or other benefits such as paid annual or sick leave and often experience poorer working conditions, including longer hours, unstable earnings and occupational safety and health shortcomings. Around 70 per cent of the region is engaged in the services sector (excluding Haiti), with labour shortages in health and education linked to an exodus of skilled workers. Services account for 86 per cent of all employment of women in the CARICOM region (excluding Haiti); while for men, this figure is around 70 per cent. There is higher propensity for men to be engaged in industry sectors such as construction and transport, although women are often engaged in manufacturing, as well as agriculture. Stakeholder consultations highlighted labour shortages in the agricultural sector, and even greater shortages in health and education, primarily driven by migration to Europe and America. The characteristics of Labour migration in the CARICOM region There is a lack of precise data on labour migration flows, with the numbers skills certificates and work permits only painting a partial picture. While skills certificates are one of the main channels of labour migration, they are typically outweighed by the use of work permits. While the number of skills certificates provide a helpful insight into migration within the region, they are insufficient to capture 15 labour migration flows per se. Having a skills does not necessarily mean that a person uses it to obtain work in another Member State, and one person can be the holder of multiple skills certificates in different categories. CARICOM migrants have a higher labour force participation rate than the non-migrant population. The differences likely reflect the fact that CARICOM nationals are more likely to be explicitly in the country for employment reasons. The same holds for differences in the unemployment rate, for which CARICOM nationals have a lower rate than the national population. This is likely due to the higher likelihood of ineligibility for social security provisions for migrants, as well as the fact that many CARICOM nationals and non-CARICOM nationals will have moved for purposes of employment and even have employer- specific visas and permits. As more than half the population in CARICOM are in informal employment, local labour markets are likely to receive migrants into informal jobs. Migrants are often more vulnerable to exploitation and poor working conditions than non-migrants, even in wage and salaried jobs. In general higher paying jobs are more likely to have regular incomes, higher levels of job security, and are more likely to be eligible for social security and other benefits such as paid leave. However, this is not always the case. Many migrants in wage and salaried employment can be in poor quality jobs, particularly in the informal sector, and in some cases can find themselves in vulnerable situations owing to the employer-specific nature of the work permit, which requires them to stay in that particular job in order to stay in the country per se. Breakdowns by occupational skill levels and stakeholder consultations highlighted a reliance on non- CARICOM migrants for high skilled roles. A higher share of non-CARICOM nationals were in high-skilled occupations (38 per cent) than both the national workforce (27 per cent) and the CARICOM migrants (28 per cent). This suggests a reliance on high-skilled workers from outside the CARICOM region for certain high-skilled roles. At the same time, stakeholder consultations highlighted frequent shortages of healthcare workers, such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists, as well as hospitality workers and care workers, often associated with national workers in these areas going abroad. The degree and characteristics of migrants leaving the CARICOM region has implications for national labour markets, particularly the outflow of skilled labour. Higher educated and higher skilled workers are leaving behind skill gaps and a dearth of skilled labour for certain sectors. This is particularly problematic for certain occupations, including nursing and teaching, for which OECD economies can be an attractive prospect. Conversely, remittances constitute a major financial inflow to the region, and returning migrants can bring skills, investment and other benefits. Labour migration governance in the CARICOM region Regional and national labour migration governance are hampered by a shortfall in coordination and information sharing on labour migration among Member States. The free movement of persons is discussed at some CARICOM meetings, such as the Council for Human and Social Development’s Labour Meeting. However, there is no formal dialogue process or coordination mechanism on migration per se, nor on labour migration, in which all the CARICOM Member States participate. However, some CARICOM Member States do have national coordination mechanisms on migration, or other coordinating committees where labour migration is discussed. CARICOM plans to develop a regional labour migration policy framework as part of the CMPF, as mandated by the Conference of Heads of Government in 2019. This is expected to strengthen labour migration governance, skills-matching, and standard-setting for the protection of migrant workers’ rights, including CARICOM nationals exercising their right to free movement. CARICOM Member States are yet to adopt national labour migration policies, and inter-ministerial coordination on labour migration needs to be strengthened in most Member States. Overall, labour migration and its developmental impact could be bolstered by developing labour migration objectives through a whole-of-society approach. X Executive summary X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 16 CARICOM Member States are taking steps toward enhancing fair recruitment and the protection of migrant workers’ rights. It is unclear to what extent national labour laws apply to migrant workers with irregular status. Awareness should be raised with Member States on fair recruitment practices and the ratification and implementation of Conventions on the protection of migrant workers, including the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143). Migrant workers’ access to social protection and opportunities for family reunification and integration varies across the region. This points to the need to standardise the implementation of regional policy at the national level, including through the CARICOM Agreement on Social Security and the Protocol on Contingent Rights. Climate change and its implications for labour migration in the region The CARICOM region is particularly exposed to climate-related shocks. Exposure to climate-related disasters has worsened as rising temperatures increase the frequency and intensity of storms and flooding. Moreover in the longer term the region faces rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Across the Member States the vulnerability to climate change is similar in biophysical terms, but varies significantly in terms of the likely impact, owing to different degrees of readiness among Member States. Countries with higher degrees of readiness are more likely to have the resources and systems in place to cope with and mitigate the impact on jobs and livelihoods. In short, higher-income CARICOM Member States are better equipped to deal with climate change risks. There is clearly potential disruption to food security and the agriculture sector per se. Approximately 30 per cent of total employment in the region is in the agricultural sector (decreasing to 10 per cent when excluding Haiti from the regional average). There are considerable food security risks in the region, stemming in particular from the impact of climate change on both agricultural production itself and its associated value chains. In stakeholder consultations conducted as part of this study, the agricultural sector was regularly cited as being heavily prone to climate-change related disasters. The impacts range from disruption caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes, to longer-term changes such as prolonged drought, irregular weather patterns, and excessive heat. However, there are also signs of new environmental management systems, climate-resistant agricultural practices, and the emergence of new occupations and specialities in the agricultural sector that respond to climate change. Many of these specialist activities will increase the demand for specialist skills that exceed domestic supply, unless there are targeted education and technical and vocational educational and training (TVET) curriculums that explicitly respond to this demand. The tourism sector is a major source of employment in CARICOM Member States, for both nationals and foreign workers, and is heavily exposed to the impact of climate change. It is estimated to contribute 33 per cent of GDP in parts of the region and to account for around 18 per cent of all employment. Moreover this figure rises to 43.1 per when employment indirectly linked to the sector is included (ILO 2020b). Furthermore, between 50 and 60 per cent of the tourism sector’s workforce are women, and tourism is also an important source of employment for youth (ILO 2025c). Due to the onset of climate-change related disasters, including hurricane damage, stakeholder interviews highlighted the surge in demand for construction workers for reconstruction and infrastructure development. Oftentimes, the urgent demand for labour necessitates the use of migrant workers from other CARICOM Member States, or from outside the region. Migrant construction workers are often seen as a means of filling labour demand but also keeping costs down, and as a result these migrant workers are often more subjected to exploitation and poorer working conditions (Lyu et al. 2025). Safeguards are needed for safe and well managed labour migration of construction workers, both for long and short- term employment. 17 Strategic recommendations The report presents a number of strategic recommendations, aligned with the draft CARICOM Migration Policy Framework (CMPF): Bolster labour migration policy development and implementation International Labour Organisation: X Raise awareness and build capacity on the key Conventions and non-normative tools related to the protection of migrant workers in CARICOM Member States. CARICOM Member States: X Ratify key Conventions related to the protection of migrant workers and align national laws, policies and practice to these Conventions. X Develop and implement comprehensive national labour migration policies, or develop labour migration objectives that are anchored in other policies, such as migration or development policies, through a whole-of-society approach. X Reinforce policy coherence between labour migration objectives and related policy areas (particularly employment, social protection, education and training, and climate change) by including labour migration objectives in related policies and putting mechanisms in place to ensure policy coherence in the implementation of these policies. CARICOM Secretariat: X Ensure the CARICOM regional labour migration policy framework strengthens regional cooperation on labour migration through strengthening data sharing on national skills gaps, by facilitating skills matching, and by setting regional standards for the protection and integration of migrant workers and their families. X Develop the CARICOM labour migration policy framework through a whole-of-society approach, based on good practices and a rights-based approach to migration. Strengthen coordination on labour migration at regional and national levels CARICOM Secretariat: X Bolster regional cooperation via the CSME on labour migration as a means of facilitating mobility, filling skills gaps, and enhancing CARICOM nationals’ knowledge of their rights and opportunities for labour migration in the region. X Strengthen regional coordination on the harmonisation of CSME legislation and the standardisation of the implementation of regional policy at national level. X Create opportunities for non-governmental stakeholders to participate in decision-making related to labour migration at regional level. X Facilitate the exchange of good practices and peer-to-peer learning on labour migration between CARICOM Member States by establishing a regional labour migration dialogue, or by incorporating such exchanges into established CARICOM meetings. X Executive summary X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 18 CARICOM Member States: X Introduce a national coordination mechanism on labour migration or include labour migration in other relevant national coordination mechanisms, such as on migration or trade, and involve the social partners and all other relevant stakeholders through a whole-of-society approach. X Create opportunities for the social partners and other non-governmental stakeholders to participate in decision-making related to labour migration at national level. Enhance fair recruitment and the protection of migrant workers International Labour Organization: X Raise awareness on fair recruitment with CARICOM Member States and assist them in aligning laws, policies and practice with the ILO general principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment. 1 X Raise awareness with CARICOM Member States on the need to ensure that all migrant workers, regardless of their status, are protected by national labour laws. CARICOM Member States: X Ensure that all labour migration laws, policies, practice and programmes comply with the ILO general principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment. X Align the provision of social protection for migrant workers with CARICOM regional policy and instruments, including the CARICOM Agreement on Social Security (CASS). X Clearly specify that all migrant workers, regardless of their status, are protected under national labour laws. CARICOM Secretariat: X Expand the CASS and fully align it to the ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) and ILO Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202). X Support CARICOM Member States to extend and harmonise the provision of social protection to migrant workers. Support family reunification and the integration of migrant workers and their families into host countries CARICOM Secretariat: X Facilitate the harmonised implementation of the Protocol on Contingent Rights across CARICOM Member States. X Support CARICOM Member States in standardising the implementation of the CASS to enhance the portability of social security benefits. CARICOM Member States: X Enhance the financial inclusion of migrants to bolster their integration and contribution to economic development. X Initiate and improve upon mechanisms for the portability of social security to aid labour migration outside of the region. 1 General principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment and definition of recruitment fees and related costs. ILO, 2019. 19 Strengthen the functions for regional labour migration and its impact on economic development CARICOM Secretariat: X Support and strengthen the harmonisation of educational standards and skills recognition across the region. X Strengthen the Caribbean Vocation Qualification (CVQ) system to increase the number of CVQs that are issued. X Facilitate the further standardisation and simplification of application and verification of Skills Certificates across the region and raise awareness on how this process works for CARICOM nationals. CARICOM Member States: X Develop and align National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs) with the CARICOM Qualification Framework (CQF). X Increase formal channels for sending remittances and reducing the cost of sending remittances, including by developing new mechanisms, such as mobile money (Cerovic and Beaton, 2017). X Create opportunities for the channelling of remittances into productive investments, such as small businesses, education, and vocational training. 2 Improve labour market information for evidence- based labour migration governance CARICOM Secretariat: X Conduct a detailed stocktaking review of the availability of international labour migration statistics across the region. This should look at how statistics on stocks and flow of migrants are gathered and recorded; and develop a framework of minimum indicators, data sources and guidance for the systematic improvement in coverage of international labour migration statistics across Member States. In addition, the review ought to expand the minimum list of international labour migration statistics indicators in the CLMIS list of indicators; and facilitate regional workshops for knowledge sharing and capacity building on the systematic expansion of international labour migration statistics in CARICOM Member States. X Conduct a stocktaking review of data sources of information on demand for labour, skills gaps and skills shortages across the region, and facilitate regional workshops for knowledge sharing and capacity building on alternative and effective approaches for measuring the demand for labour in CARICOM Member States, including web scraping of online job boards. X Facilitate regional dialogue, including with social partners and education and TVET institutions, to provide qualitative insights into skills gaps per sector and to facilitate curriculum development to address these gaps at the regional level. X Produce regular reports in collaboration with Member States that consolidate labour market developments and highlight trends and characteristics in the supply and demand for labour at the regional level, with a focus on key sectors, in particular health and education. X Conduct research into the issuing of work permits to determine the degree to which it driven by skill gaps, particularly to understand why there is a propensity to hire non-CARICOM nationals. It should examine the educational background of those being issued skills certificates aligns with skills gaps across the CARICOM Member States. The research should seek to determine if the process of issuing work permits is preferred to using other free movement entry points. 2 Draft CMPF. X Executive summary X Free movement of persons in the CARICOM region: A labour market analysis 20 CARICOM Member States: X Ensure the delivery of timely and reliable data on the issuing of work permits, skills certificates, and other relevant information to the CARICOM Secretariat. X Develop roadmaps for the improvement of international labour migration statistics, using a CARICOM framework of minimum indicators. X Strengthen collaboration between national statistics offices and other ministries and agencies - including those dealing with immigration and labour issues - through a whole-of-government approach to assist with the processing of administrative data on international labour migration statistics. X Establish sector skills councils to help with the identification of specific labour market issues per sector including labour shortages and skills gaps, and to strengthen collaboration between the private sector and education and training institutions. X Explore opportunities for harvesting job posting information from private sector job boards to expand insights into demand for labour at national level. Better understand the implications of climate-change for labour migration CARICOM Secretariat: X Mainstream labour migration into regional climate and development strategies. This should include integrating labour migration issues into Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) Planning, the Regional Adaptation Strategy, and other regional initiativ