Bermuda gained 523 jobs from 2018 to 2019, to a figure of 34,378 working last year.The figures were among the 2020 employment briefs released on Tuesday by Wayne Furbert, the Minister for the Cabinet Office.The briefs showed job figures climbing, year on year, from 2017.David Burt, the Premier, said later that day that the jump reflected in last year’s figures marked “the highest measured increase in jobs in since 2006 — 13 years ago”.Mr Burt conceded the numbers showed Bermuda’s workplace before the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic this year.But he said the increase was “evidence that, as a country, we have made collective progress in setting a firm foundation for our economy”.Craig Cannonier, the leader of the One Bermuda Alliance, argued yesterday that 306, or nearly 60 per cent, of last year’s 523 increased jobs lay in “public administration, education or social work — the vast majority of which are public sector jobs paid for by the taxpayer”. Mr Cannonier said there had been 151 extra jobs in hotels, which he said the OBA had generated through the Bermuda Tourism Authority as new hotels opened.He highlighted a drop of 50 jobs in international business, Bermuda’s main earner of foreign exchange.Mr Cannonier pointed to a rise for 2019 of 324 jobs held by non-Bermudians, questioning if Bermudians were being put first in the island’s workplace.The briefs are based on data collected from the 2019 Employment Survey.The survey used the week of August 25 to 31 to carry out a census of all the island’s businesses.Mr Burt added: “I recommend that anyone who needs a new job, is trying to switch careers, or is trying to determine which retraining is best for them, take a look at the report, identify the sectors where employers are hiring, and make an appointment with the Department of Workforce Development armed with your desires, your commitment, and relevant, recent data.”Other standout figures for 2018-19 were:• Public administration jobs increased 5.3 per cent to 3,964• Professionals such as accountants and engineers went up 2.9 per cent to 6,514• Median gross annual income for all job holders rose 1.6 per cent, or $997, to $62,693• To view the 2019 Employment Survey and 2020 Employment Briefs, click on the PDF links under “Related Media”