Puerto Rico jobless rate at 7.5% in Dec. ’21, down from 9.2% in Dec. ’20
Puerto Rico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was estimated at 7.5% in December 2021, representing a decrease of 0.3 percentage points when compared to November 2021, and 9.2% when compared to December 2020, dropping 1.7 percentage points.
The Puerto Rico Labor Department published the most recent study that identifies people who are fit and available to work, which includes employed and displaced people.
Meanwhile, the island’s non-seasonally adjusted labor participation rate in December 2021 was estimated at 44.2%, for an increase of 0.8 percentage point, compared to the month of November 2021 (43.4%). The comparison with the 39.9% rate for December 2020 — when COVID-19 restrictions were in place — there is an increase of 4.3 percentage points in this indicator.
“The drop in the unemployment rate and the increase in labor participation are, in turn, a reflection of other statistics and economic reports prepared by other agencies that point to a marked improvement in our economy after the initial emergency period due to of COVID-19,” said Labor Secretary Gabriel Maldonado.
“The Department’s goal is to provide workers and employers with the tools, from a labor point of view, to continue this trend, creating more and better jobs for all Puerto Ricans,” he said.
Regarding unemployment, the seasonally adjusted figure stood at 83,000 people in December 2021. This figure represented a decrease of 2,000 people when compared to November 2021 (85,000). Compared to December 2020 (97,000), the number of unemployed decreased by 14,000 people.
The seasonally adjusted working group estimate was 1.1 million people in December 2021, 12,000 more than in November 2021 (1,088,000). The comparison with December 2020 (1,054,000) reflected an increase of 46,000 people in the working group.
The number of people employed in Puerto Rico for December 2021, seasonally adjusted, was 1,018,000. This data shows an increase of 15,000 people when compared to the November 2021 estimate (1,003,000); and 61,000 more people in relation to December 2020 (957,000).
