AS RESIDENTS of St. Catherine South East prepare to vote in the next general election, which is constitutionally due later this year, the need for employment is uppermost in their minds.

According to a recent survey of the constituency done by pollster Bill Johnson on behalf of The Gleaner, 43 per cent of respondents identified the lack of jobs as the 'greatest need at this time' in their community. The survey of persons 18 years and older was conducted on March 11, and the findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 5 per cent.

In addition, 11 per cent of 480 persons interviewed said they were unemployed, but seeking a job; while three per cent were out of work, but not searching. Forty-two per cent of persons interviewed were employed full-time, eight per cent part-time, and 19 per cent were self-employed.

However, the growth in the self-employment sector is presenting a challenge to themunicipal authority, which insists that economic activities must comply with building and other regulations. The older Portmore communities, built in the 1960s and 1970s, did not have adequate provision for commercial activities. Hence, the mushrooming of commercial or quasi-commercial entities in residential areas, as well as the blossoming of trailer-based businesses.

Of concern as well for the council is the vastness of the informal sector which has been able to escape the tax net, thus starving the municipality of resources to engineer infrastructural development.

The St. Catherine South East constituency comprises communities such as Independence City, Edgewater, Waterford, Bridgeport and Westchester.

Looking at the national level, 35 per cent of the residents of St. Catherine South East believe joblessness and poverty are the 'most pressing problems' the country faces at this time. And as much as 69 per cent of respondents believe things are going in the 'wrong direction' in the country.