Prime Minister Gaston Browne has accused the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) of deliberately misleading the public by recycling outdated statistics on youth unemployment.

Speaking on Pointe FM, Browne dismissed claims by the UPP that youth unemployment in Antigua and Barbuda currently stands at 26%, insisting the figure was based on a 2018 UNESCO report that he described as “absolute rubbish.”

He said the opposition was using flawed data covering the 15–24 age group, which included many students who were still in school and not part of the workforce.

Government officials argued that Antigua and Barbuda was “almost at full employment,” estimating the true unemployment rate to be closer to 2–2.5% once students and informal sector workers are taken into account.

Browne said the opposition’s reliance on outdated numbers was part of a pattern of “disinformation and misinformation,” accusing them of attempting to discredit the government’s record on job creation.

He contrasted the present situation with unemployment levels under the former administration, which he claimed were above 20% overall and over 40% among young people. “By 2018, we had already brought it down to 26% in line with regional averages, and the position is much better now, seven years later,” he said.