Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate drops to 5.5% in September
The agencies estimated the nonseasonally adjusted labor force participation rate for September to be 44.3%.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Puerto Rico for September 2024 was 5.5%, representing a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to August 2024 (5.7%). When compared to September 2023 (5.7%), the unemployed as a percentage of the working group also reflected a reduction of 0.2 percentage points.
These data come from the most recent employment and unemployment statistics for September 2024, as reported in the Worker Group Survey published by the Department of Labor and Human Resources, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“This information is extremely positive and encouraging. We continue in the right direction by closing the unemployment gap,” said Interim Labor Secretary Naihomy Álamo-Rivera.
“Meanwhile, at the [Labor Department] we will continue to provide practical tools to face current challenges in the labor field. Among them, we highlight our most recent media campaign, ‘Ready to Work,’ where we urge employers to hire job applicants with functional diversity by accessing an interactive map where they will see the candidates in real time and a brief X-ray of what they are looking for at a professional level,” she said.
“Through ‘Puerto Rico Está Faja’o,’ we will hold several job fairs so that more people can enter the workforce. Likewise, through the Employment and Recruitment Website to Facilitate Labor Integration [Perfil, in Spanish] we connect employers with people looking for work,” Álamo-Rivera added.
The Employment and Unemployment publication estimated that the nonseasonally adjusted labor force participation rate in September 2024 was 44.3%. This rate represented an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to August 2024 (43.9%) and 0.2 percentage points compared to September 2023 (44.1%).
In terms of unemployment, the seasonally adjusted figure stood at 67,000 people in September 2024, representing a reduction of 1,000 compared to August 2024 (68,000).
The number of employed people in Puerto Rico for September 2024 was 1,137,000, reflecting an increase of 3,000 workers compared to August 2024 (1,134,000).
According to nonseasonally adjusted data from the Worker Group Survey, agricultural employment was estimated at 15,000 people in September 2024, an increase of 2,000 compared to September 2023 (13,000). Meanwhile, self-employment in September 2024 stood at 208,000 people, 23,000 more than the estimated figure for this labor category in September 2023 (185,000).
Seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment was 962,300 in September 2024. Compared to August 2024 (958,700), payroll employment increased by 3,600. Industry sectors that registered employment increases over the previous month included education and health services (1,900); trade, transportation and utilities (1,200); leisure and hospitality (700); mining, logging and construction (200); and financial activities (200).
The sectors that showed declines were professional and business services (300), government (200) and manufacturing (100). Meanwhile, there was no change in the information and other services sectors.
Compared to September 2023 (947,600), there was an increase of 14,700 in nonfarm payroll employment in Puerto Rico. Sectors that registered year-over-year increases were leisure and hospitality (6,200); trade, transportation and utilities (4,100); education and health services (3,800); mining, logging and construction (1,800); financial activities (1,000); other services (300); and information (100). The sectors that reflected decreases were government (1,600); professional and business services (800); and manufacturing (200).
