long-term-unemployment

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. A group of ten former British colonies in the West Indies, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. It was established in 1958 and slated for independence in 1962 but broke up in May 1962 because of economic disagreements among the members. Some of the islands later formed the British-sponsored West Indies Associated States, which was gradually disbanded as the islands achieved independence in the 1970s and early 1980s.