Jamaica to create $5m work programme

Jamaica's government says it is launching a $5-million welfare-to-work programme that is expected to benefit some 2,000 people. Security Minister Derrick Kellier says the programme will be implemented in the next two years. The government's media agency said on Friday that the programme aims to reduce the number of people who receive financial support and prepare them to enter the workforce. The island of 2.9 million people has a 16-per cent unemployment rate and nearly 17 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to a news agency.