There's growing concern in American Samoa's business community over the state of the economy.
American Samoa Photo: RNZI
Some business managers have reacted to a recent KHJ News story which quoted Director of Commerce Keniseli lafaele talking about new jobs created in the last four years.
The director said over four years the government employed 1,300 more people and that unemployment had halved to 14 percent.
Business owners told KHJ News that the growth of government jobs is one of the reasons why the government is in financial strife now.
They point to the GDP estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis last year which showed that 71 percent of GDP is attributed to the private sector.
However when it comes to compensation of employees by industry, government accounts for 60 percent of total compensation.
