Barbados no longer has the highest salaries in the Caribbean, particularly those paid to executives and people in specialised roles.
That is the finding of the 2024 edition of the Caribbean Salary Survey Report: Pay Pulse published by The Caribbean Society for Human Resource Professionals (CSHRP) in Jamaica.
In its examination of annual gross salaries excluding benefits and incentives, Pay Pulse 2023 found that Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and Jamaica were the highest paying countries.
CSHRP says this time around that The Bahamas, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados “emerged as regional leaders in salary, particularly in executive and specialised roles”.
It also shared that “conversely, Jamaica, Belize, and St Vincent and the Grenadines show more modest salary levels, especially in entry-level positions”.
The survey results were launched last Wednesday evening at The Hub Coworking Ltd. in Kingston.
Responding to questions on the Barbadosrelated findings, leader researcher Kimberly Largie explained that there were several reasons why, unlike 2023, the survey concluded that salaries in Barbados were no longer the highest.
“Our reports are based on the information provided by companies who participated in the survey, therefore, the data would be influenced by the number of respondents, as well as who responded. This year, we saw greater participation from other markets such as The Bahamas,” she said.
On the level of participation from Barbados companies, she said: “In 2023, we had 117 responses compared to 139 in 2024. However, in terms of representation from Barbados, we had fewer responses this year, although we noted the same number of regional companies participating in 2023 and 2024 from Barbados. All participating companies are undisclosed for confidentiality reasons.”
Largie also said that “for Barbados, there are some roles that we’ve seen [salary] increases for in the 2024 survey”.
“For example, accountant, administrative assistant, chief financial officer, customer service representative and human resources (HR) manager. Chief executive officer (CEO) actually saw a decrease in the average salary reported in the 2024 survey,” she added.
The lead researcher said a key Pay Pulse 2024 takeaway for her was that “we’re heading in the right direction
as a region” in relation to companies willing to share information on salaries.
“There has been more openness in sharing salary information through this survey, and our commitment to transparency and confidentiality is paramount. While this report offers us just a snapshot of the regional job market, it helps us to begin to identify possible opportunities for improvement,” she noted.
“We hope that the insights shared in PayPulse24 will help companies consider how to improve the total compensation package, remembering that we need to consider the trinity of social, physical and psychological wage.
“We believe that as more companies hear about our annual survey, we’ll receive more responses that will help paint a more complete picture of the regional landscape.”
With participation from 119 companies across 20 countries and data covering 78 job roles, CSHRP said Pay Pulse 2024’s other key findings included:
• HR; banking, financial services, and insurance; and hospitality, tourism, and catering lead the region in salaries. In contrast, industries such as education, childcare and training; retailing, wholesaling and purchasing; and the public sector present opportunities for salary reform.
• As expected, executive roles such as CEO, general manager, and chief marketing officer command the highest salaries. Meanwhile, entrylevel and support roles, including groundsman, bartender, janitor, cashier, and receptionist, continue to earn the lowest salaries across participating countries.
• Key roles, such as accountant, administrative assistant, auditor, CEO, and HR manager, experienced varying degrees of salary growth when compared to the 2023 report, with some markets showing substantial increases, possibly shaped by evolving market dynamics, inflation rates and costof-living variations across the region. (SC)
