Questioning whether the Island had lost 500 jobs last year, the Opposition has challenged Government to release its 2014 Labour Force Survey.

David Burt, the Shadow Minister for Finance, suggested that Government had delayed the release of the latest unemployment figures, after ZBM news reported that the survey had been held while Cabinet looked into the veracity of its figures.

“This report citing sources stated that these figures show that there was a loss of 500 jobs in 2014,” Mr Burt said this afternoon. “This should not be surprising, as Bermudians have had a steady diet of business closures and layoffs.”

Mr Burt charged the One Bermuda Alliance with holding “an increasing record of a lack of transparency” and concealing bad news.

“These statistics should be above politics, and the data that is collected must be published,” Mr Burt added.