About 25% of Employees on BES-islands Earn Less Than $1000 Per Month

Kralendijk- According to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for the BES-islands, about 25% of employees on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba earned less than a 1000 dollars per month in the year 2017.

According to the same CBS figures, the group of low income earners is biggest on Bonaire. Saba has more or less comparable figures, but on St. Eustatius this group is actually below 20% of total workers.

St. Eustatius, once again also registred the highest average income on the three BES-islands, namely $3,150 compared to $2,250 om Saba and $2.050 per month in Bonaire. This means that average income on St. Eustatius is actuall about 50% higher than on Bonaire. A fact that for many on the ground in St. Eustatius is incomprehensible as it does not meet perception of the income situation and also of the poverty situation on the island.

The biggest group of employees on all three islands is the group that earns between 1000 and 2000 dollars per month. On all three islands this concerns about 40% of the working population.

Increase on Bonaire and St Eustatius

According to figures from CBS, over the period 2011-2017, average job wages increased on both Bonaire (+3 percent per year) and St Eustatius (+4 percent per year).

Wages remained more or less stable on Saba (+1 percent per year). Saba and St Eustatius have a relatively small number of jobs, which means any minor changes will have a relatively large impact on the total outcome. The pattern of development on the two smaller islands is less regular compared to the situation on Bonaire.