P.R.’s Economic Activity Index up 1.6% Y-O-Y in April
Puerto Rico’s Economic Activity Index for the month of April 2019 reflected a 1.6% increase, to 121.3, when compared to the same month in 2018, Economic Development Bank President Gerardo J. Portela said.
“The EAI for April 2019 reflects a reduction of 0.1% compared to the result obtained in March this year,” he said. “The year-over-year comparison is with April 2018, when the island was still suffering the effects of the recovery of the electrical system due to the impact of Hurricanes Irma and María.”
“The accrued EAI for the July to April period of Fiscal Year 2019 showed an average level of 121.4, which translates into growth of 7.1%, when compared to the result for the same period of Fiscal Year 2018,” he said.
For the month of April 2019, the average non-farming salaried payroll included 875,000 employees, an increase of 0.3% over March and an annual increase of 2.0%, according to the data released by the EDB.
Cement sales for the same period totaled 1.04 million, 94-pound bags, which represents a 10.4% month-over-month drop and an annual drop of 17.7%.
Preliminary estimates gasoline consumption in April was 78.4 million gallons, 0.9% higher than in March 2019 and a decrease of 7.4% compared to consumption during the same month last year, the report showed.
Electricity generation was 1,527.5 million kWh for the month of April 2019, representing a decrease of 1.8% over March and an increase 8.4% versus the figure reported in April 2018.
The EAI is an indicator that summarizes the general behavior of the island’s economic activity. It does not represent a monthly estimate of the real Gross National Product.
