At 5.7%, Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate remains at historic lows
The Puerto Rico Labor and Human Resources Department, in collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported that for January, the island’s unemployment rate was 5.7%, continuing a 25-month trend of 6.5% or lower. This follows an annual data review with the federal government, showing a record low of 5.6% in October and November 2023.
“We begin the new year with the same historically positive trend in the labor market, and upon conducting the annual data review for 2023 with the federal government, we noticed that the lowest unemployment rate in our history was even lower, at 5.6%,” Puerto Rico Labor Secretary Gabriel Maldonado-González said. “We will continue to collaborate with the private sector, nonprofit organizations and other government agencies to continue integrating more people into the workforce, addressing the … labor force shortage to ensure that our economy continues to grow as it has.”
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2024 was 5.7%, down 3.3 percentage points from January 2021, unchanged from December 2023, and a 0.3 percentage point decrease from January 2023. The average unemployment rate in 2023 was 5.9%, “the lowest annual average in our history,” the secretary emphasized.
The labor force participation rate in January 2024 was 44.8%, up 4.4 percentage points from January 2021, increasing by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, and by 0.3 percentage point from January 2023. The average rate for 2023 was 43.9%, the highest annual average since 2009.
In January 2024, the estimated workforce was 1,216,000, an increase of 98,000 from January 2021, adding 4,000 from the previous month and 12,000 from the previous year. The 2023 annual average workforce was 1,196,000, the highest since 2012.
The total employment in January 2024 was 1,147,000, up 129,000 from January 2021, with an increase of 3,000 from the previous month and 16,000 from January 2023. The annual average employment in 2023 was 1,126,000 jobs, the highest since 2008, including an estimated 201,000 self-employed workers in January 2024, one of the highest monthly figures.
Unemployment figures for January 2024 showed 69,000 people, 31,000 fewer than January 2021, unchanged from December 2023, and down 3,000 from January 2023. The 2023 annual average of unemployed people tied the historical low set in 2022 at 71,000.
Meanwhile, nonfarm payroll employment in January 2024 was 956,400, up 105,300 from January 2021, increasing by 6,000 from December 2023, and up 24,400 from the previous year. The 2023 annual average was 942,500, the highest since 2009.
