Puerto Rico sees growth in employment, wages in Q3 2023
A report on Puerto Rico’s “Industrial Composition by Municipality” for the third quarter of 2023 showed an increase in all indicators compared to the previous year and the first quarter of 2021, specifically in employment, wages, average quarterly salary per worker and the number of establishments.
“Unlike monthly surveys and statistical reports based on household and employer payroll samples, the report on industrial composition by municipality is based on information provided by employers in quarterly unemployment insurance filings,” explained Puerto Rico Labor Secretary Gabriel Maldonado-González. “This means that the report validates, with actual data rather than estimates, the growth of the labor market and overall economic upturn we have been experiencing for a few years.”
According to the report, from the first quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2023, total wage employment increased by 81,613 jobs, a 10% rise. Total wages paid increased by $1,460,359,993, or 24%. The average quarterly salary per worker increased by about $930, or 13%, and the total number of establishments grew by 14%, with 6,445 additional establishments.
“These numbers … reflect the collaboration between the private sector, nonprofit organizations, the government and a joint effort to create more and better jobs across the entire island,” Maldonado-González said.
In the third quarter of 2023, average employment in Puerto Rico was 929,493, an increase of 16,125 jobs compared to the third quarter of 2022.
The industries with the highest average employment were retail (130,515); public administration (123,377); and health care and social assistance services (97,221), followed by lodging and food services (87,824); manufacturing (83,320); administrative and waste management services (80,382); educational services (78,832); professional and technical services (40,208); and construction (34,575).
The 10 municipalities with the highest average employment are San Juan (256,215), Guaynabo (54,775), Bayamón (53,151), Carolina (47,721), Ponce (46,212), Caguas (41,789), Mayagüez (30,208), Arecibo (22,174), Aguadilla (19,076) and Humacao (16,768).
The report also shows that total wages paid by industries in the third quarter of 2023 amounted to $7,656,014,521, an increase of $341,875,991 compared to the third quarter of 2022.
The industries with the highest total wages were public administration ($1,044,514,317), manufacturing ($879,404,567), health care and social assistance services ($827,820,193), retail ($811,452,746), educational services ($665,844,482), and professional and technical services ($502,516,218).
The average wage per worker reached $8,237 in the third quarter of 2023, up $229 from the same period the previous year.
The highest wages were in management of companies and enterprises ($14,011), finance and insurance ($12,593), professional and technical services ($12,498), information ($11,601), utilities ($11,459), wholesale trade ($11,143), manufacturing ($10,555), transportation and storage ($10,231), and health care and social assistance services ($8,515).
The report lists the municipalities with the highest quarterly average wages per worker were Juncos ($13,196), Guaynabo ($10,089), San Juan ($9,880), Maunabo ($9,354) and Cataño ($9,246).
The total number of establishments was 53,557 in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 3,584 units from the previous year.
The sectors reporting the most establishments were retail trade (9,668), health care and social assistance services (8,220), professional and technical services (6,340), lodging and food services (5,836), other services except public administration (3,804), and construction (2,839).
The municipalities with the most establishments were San Juan (12,721), Bayamón (3,185), Guaynabo (2,758), Caguas (2,478), Ponce (2,437), Carolina (2,171) and Mayagüez (1,647).
