Minister Lee: “Signs of economic recovery”

PHILIPSBURG – “We are starting to see signs of economic recovery and some jobs coming back to the community,” Minister Emil Lee (Public Health, Social Development and Labor) said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. “There are positive signs that St. Maarten is busy to rebound – not as quickly as we would like, but there are positive indications all the same.”

The minister based his statements on the job fair held at Divi Little Bay Resort on Tuesday, where 260 permanent residents and Dutch passport holders applied for a job.

The resort plans to reopen 87 rooms during phase one of its recovery. “They have already pre-selected 27 applicants they believe they can hire for the phase 1 opening in May,” Minister Lee said. “This is in addition to the 71 employees who were on a reduced schedule. They will now return to a more full schedule.”

Divi plans the second phase of its reopening in the month of July. “They anticipate hiring additional staff from the people who have already applied,” Lee said.

The minister furthermore referred to a job fair for construction workers that took place on Tuesday. That fair was attended by 16 job seekers.

Photo caption: Minister Emil Lee. File photo Hilbert Haar.