After the pandemic, the formal sector lost 10 per cent of its labour force while Fiji continues to lose skilled and experienced people.
Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad highlighted that while this remained a big challenge, it has also given an opportunity to the unemployed to fill vacant positions.
He said the tourism industry was expected to grow by 4 per cent more than 2019, resulting in job replacements and new job creations, which have led to a labour shortage in other sectors.
“The tourism industry is peaking; the salaries and wages have also gone up resulting in people from other sectors, even people from Suva, relocating to the Western Division to look for better paying jobs.”
Prof Prasad said this has resulted in them increasing the wages and salaries of the formal sector by 10 to 12 per cent.
“In terms of the total salaries and wages bill, it has increased by about 25 per cent compared to 2019, and based on statistics from surveys; it has also lowered the unemployment rate because we are creating more jobs and also filling in vacant positions of people that are leaving.”
He said they were also making sure more people are trained and given the opportunity to be upskilled by providing additional funding to the Pacific Polytech Institute.
