Employees of the international business sector took home $24.5 million less in compensation during the first quarter of the year than they did in the same period a year earlier.

The figure was revealed by the Department of Statistics, which attributed the fall to declines in bonuses and stock options.

International business has generated about a third of Bermuda’s total employment income in each of the past two years. Annual bonuses bulk up first-quarter payments for many in the sector.

Last year earnings of many of Bermuda’s international re/insurers were hit by claims from a series of catastrophes, including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, wildfires in California and an earthquake in Mexico City. Bonuses linked to profitability were diminished as a result.

International business paid out $369.76 million in employment income in the first three months of the year, down 6.2 per cent on the $394.29 million paid out in the first quarter of 2017.

The island’s total employment compensation for the January-through-March period was $942.21 million, down $15.46 million from 2017, according to the Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics.

The fall in international business compensation was offset by a $7.1 million increase in public sector pay, which totalled $109.59 million in the quarter.

Workers in the banking, insurance and real estate sector also saw gains, taking home a combined $95.6 million, up by $4.7 million from the previous year.

The transport and communications sector saw a $1.9 million increase and the construction a $1.7 million rise, while both the business services and hotel and restaurant sectors saw decreases of less than $1 million.

Wages in the wholesale and retail sector were down by $2.1 million to $53.07 million.