As the economy tightens its grip on the bottom lines of many businesses, a trend has emerged to outsource human resources functions to third-party companies in an attempt to cut costs and protect operations.
Puerto Rico's coffee industry and its wage practices are under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Labor: starting this month, the agency will target this sector to verify that employers are in compliance with the federal minimum wage.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of $35 million in funds to develop, enhance and promote Self-Employment Assistance programs in all 50 states, including Puerto Rico, which will receive $504,523.
Given the existing need to raise awareness about developing a sustainable economy and to encourage the creation of “green” jobs on the island, Labor Secretary Miguel Romero outlined Tuesday the island’s so-called green sector job profile to identify industries and work opportunities in that area.
In what may count as another hint pointing toward an economic improvement on the island, local companies are giving their employees salary hikes of between 2.9 percent and 3.1 percent this year, a study released Thursday by the Society of Human Resources Management showed.
As two-thirds of U.S. jurisdictions saw their unemployment rates drop in March, Puerto Rico soared past the jobless levels of all the 50 states with 16.9 percent of people out of work, according to a report by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday.
The Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association reiterated Wednesday its desire to collaborate with the government and the rest of the private sector to develop and promote measures that stimulate job creation, contribute to Puerto Rico’s economic development and increase worker productivity.
Puerto Rico’s workforce fell to 41.4 percent in January 2011, representing the lowest participation rate recorded for the month of January since 1983, when the number reached 40.7 percent, the Labor Department informed Friday.
Puerto Rico has received $1 million from the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Emergency Grant program to continue clean-up and recovery efforts in the wake of the tough weather the island experienced in May.
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