The latest Bermuda Employment Survey, which this newspaper reported on in yesterday's newspaper, shows the continuation of a number of long term economic trends that show the economy is generally doing well.

However, that does not necessarily mean that growth is not necessarily good for the Island's social fabric. An increasing proportion of jobs in the workforce are held by non-Bermudians and there continues to be a wealth gap between blacks and whites ? and between Bermudians and non-Bermudians ? that the Government and other organisations need to be concerned about.

Overall, the number of jobs increased by 584 or two percent between 2004 and 2005 and has now reached 38,947. However, the number of Bermudian-held jobs actually fell ? by 130 ? while the number of jobs held by expatriates rose by 566.

The international companies sector is now the single largest employer, overhauling Government. This reflects the continuation of a long-term trend which has seen international business become an increasingly important part of the economy and its single most important driver.

There are signs that tourism is recovering, reflected in increased employment in the hotel sector, which added 109 new jobs. But retail, reflecting last year's closure of Trimingham's and Smith's, continued to decline.

The single most important trend lies in the proportion of jobs held by Bermudians and non-Bermudians. Bermudians now hold 70 percent of jobs in the economy, down from 74 percent a scant four years earlier while non-Bermudians now account for 25 percent or one in four jobs.

If that trend continues, and it is likely to assuming that the Bermudian workforce is ageing and therefore shrinking and an economy that continues to grow, then the demand for non-Bermudian workers will continue to grow, with serious ramifications for the Island in terms of housing, transport, education and so forth.

At some point, Bermuda will have to decide when the benefits of a booming economy are outweighed by the price of prosperity. The upcoming Sustainable Development paper may well help to kickstart that debate, but it is overdue.

The second area of concern lies in the continued disparity in income between blacks and whites. While median employment income in 2005 was $48,183, a rise of three percent, median employment income for blacks $44,263 while whites earned a median income of $61,154, a massive gap of almost $16, 000 or 38 percent more.

Unfortunately, figures were not provided in the report for the difference in incomes between white and black Bermudians, but it is likely that the gap would be narrower as non-Bermudians as a whole earned a median salary of $58,315.

The Bermuda Employment Survey only began collecting employment income in 2004, so it is not possible to track income changes over any length of time; however, the gap of about $16,000 in income was consistent in both years, suggesting that any change is very small.

This is worrying. There are long term answers to the question, and they have more to do with education than anything else. As long as Bermuda operates a two-track schools system in which Government schools, populated predominantly by black students, fail to deliver a competitive education, then the Island is in trouble. And no, the answer is not to close the private schools down.

It is no coincidence that many of the best paying jobs in the economy are those in which Bermudians are under-represented. Improving education and opening opportunities to Bermudians in international companies will do much to solve the problem.