There’s new evidence the job market isn’t getting any better for Bermuda.Eleven percent of Bermudians have lost a job in the last year and of those, 94 percent have not managed to find another one.Hardest hit were whites who made up 16 percent of those who had lost a job as opposed to ten percent of blacks. But when it comes to gender men and women seem to be losing jobs equally. Workers aged 55-64 seem to be most affected (16 percent) followed by the 35-44 age group.The survey, conducted for The Royal Gazette by research firm MindMaps, interviewed 400 residents aged 18 and older. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to be registered voters who said they were likely to vote. The survey therefore, does not take into account any non-Bermudian workers who may have lost their jobs in the last year.The findings come after a string of layoffs of both Bermudians and non-Bermudians this year. Of those that were reported, 15 people were laid off when The Green Lantern restaurant closed its doors last month. Another 75 were made redundant in January by the likes of BTC, Bank of New York Mellon, Ironshore, Jupiter and the Bermuda Zoological Society.Doug Soares, a partner at Expertise, Bermuda’s largest management consulting and outsourcing company, said jobs are being lost in virtually every industry and the numbers will likely get worst before they get better. “In some sectors the losses are a direct result of businesses forced to cut costs to remain viable due to the recession. Unfortunately I do not see any indication that joblessness will improve anytime soon,” Mr Soares said.“Government’s projection of an economic recovery in 2013 is very optimistic,” he added. “Employers are generally concerned that Government has not specified a clear plan for economic recovery. The approach is said to be one of stimulus and growth but the budget contained only life support. Temporary payroll tax relief for certain sectors and deferrals of pension payments may preserve jobs but it certainly will not cause job growth.”Because the Government does not release exact, up-to-date unemployment figures, it is difficult to pinpoint just how many residents on the Island are out of work. Complicating matters further is the fact that companies who let one to three workers go aren’t required to report it.The most recent Government figures are from the most recent census, which was taken last May. The census, which takes into account all residents, put the unemployment rate at six percent, but the census was taken before many layoffs were made last year.The Royal Gazette has reported on an estimated 626 layoffs since this time last year, but those are just the job cuts that were made public; many more were undoubtedly shed without being publicised. Recent public estimates and guesses by Cabinet Ministers and other officials range from 1,000-4,000 unemployed workers.There is no disputing the workforce here is dwindling. Figures from the Department of Statistic and Ministry of Finance confirm the workforce in Bermuda is shrinking year after year. At its peak in 2008, there were 40,213 Bermudian and non-Bermudian workers. As of 2011, there were 37,379 an overall seven percent loss in the workforce.The number of persons working in International Business also peaked in 2008 and has since fallen by 14 percent. The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce estimates that for every five guest workers that leave, one Bermudian job is lost.Mr Soares says what he finds most troubling about the job losses in international business is that many of the positions will likely not come back or be re-created in the Bermuda economy after the recession. He cites the high cost of doing business in Bermuda as the main reason for jobs disappearing or relocating overseas.“This is a problem that is not well understood by the average Bermudian,” he said. “Sadly, many of us still have a local economy mindset. We fail to accept that many of the jobs in Bermuda are part of the global economy and Bermuda must compete with other jurisdictions to keep those jobs here.”Joanne MacPhee, Executive Director of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce echoed those sentiments. “Until we see the Government make a truly concerted effort to bring new international business to our shores and provide key job creators with the opportunity to establish a permanent residence for themselves and their families, we are not going to see any significant change in our economic well-being,” she said. “The longer we wait, the more companies will leave Bermuda and more Bermudian jobs will be lost. We truly believe it is going to get worse before it gets better.”It seems Bermudians are beginning to recognise international business is critical for job creation. The same survey released to us by MindMaps this week finds that two-thirds of those polled believe expatriates create jobs for Bermudians and do contribute to the economy while only 17 percent of them believe guest workers take jobs away from Bermudians and do not contribute to the local economy.The poll also finds the number one concern of respondents is the economy and unemployment. Fifty-three percent consider it the biggest issue facing Bermuda today, while 30 percent say crime is their main concern.