Incorporating migration concerns into the National Development Plan - Vision 2040 will be a matter for those writing the plan, but according to Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, the "falling rate of natural increase amongst Bahamians" gives the matter real impetus.
Mitchell spoke last week at a luncheon for diplomats in The Bahamas and called for migration issues to be incorporated into the national development plan. He spoke to Guardian Business yesterday about the issue.
"It would seem obvious that when talking about the future, the manpower needs of the country have to be taken into account and the question of what policies need to be pursued to address any foreseeable shortages, particularly since there is a falling rate of natural increase amongst Bahamians," the minister said.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other agencies, the rate of natural increase refers to the population increase or decrease, without factoring in migration. It is calculated as the birth rate minus the death rate. Mitchell's statement is borne out by records from the Bahamas Department of Statistics, which do appear to indicate a falling rate of natural increase.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) calculates that approximately one in seven people alive today are migrants, and just about 150 million people are considered international labor migrants who have a significant impact on the economies of receiving countries.
Last Tuesday was International Migrants Day, and the IOM reported that immigrants from developing economies contributed an estimated 40 percent of labor force growth in advanced economies between 1980 and 2010, and that particularly in the past few years, more workers have arrived with advanced skills. By 2008, for example, foreign-born workers constituted 17 percent of all employment in science, technology, engineering and math occupations in the United States, according to the same sources.
Mitchell has long advocated establishing a mechanism to manage labor migration from Haiti to The Bahamas, with appropriate measures to ensure that the laws and rules of The Bahamas are adhered to, but that the labor needs of the commercial and industrial sector are accommodated.

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