19 Oct 2010

Marshall Islands economy will be affected by job transfers from Army Base

7:07 am on 19 October 2010

The Marshall Islands economy will be affected by job transfers from the Kwajalein Army Base in the Marshall Islands to the U.S. mainland.

A new submarine fibre optic cable enables experiments to be run remotely from the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command headquarters in Alabama.

Our correspondent in Majuro, Giff Johnson, says this means around one hundred, mainly American workers, are likely to be transferred over to Alabama, and he says this will impact heavily on local tax revenue.

"Presumably the departure of some Americans will also affect the employment of Marshallese, and the Marshall Islands government is heavily dependent on both taxes off the American workers salaries, and then of course income and retirement and other taxes off Marshall Islanders salaries at the base."

Giff Johnson says workers at the U.S. base generally earn higher wages than the average Marshallese worker.