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 […]
The Puerto Rico Labor Department will implement a new virtual platform for the island’s unemployment program — a $22 million project for which it has hired the firm Geographic Solution to work in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Services (PRITS) office. The new platform will be developed in phases and will be […]
The Department of Labor and Human Resources announced the end of the benefits of temporary assistance programs such as the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation after disbursing $9.6 billion in Puerto Rico in 18 months. “Today, some 130,000 unemployment and PUA claimants were notified, via email, about the imminent end […]
A study by nonprofit Excelencia in Education on university education in Puerto Rico revealed that, in the last 20 years, there has been a 40% increase in the total number of university degrees awarded, from 31,469 to 44,137, despite the fact that students do not have financial aid from scholarships fit for the rising cost […]
The heads of two Puerto Rico government agencies announced the availability of a website through which employers can blow the whistle on employees who refuse to return to their posts because they are receiving jobless benefits. In a press conference, the secretaries of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce and the Department of Labor […]
The Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources is seeking an IT Solutions provider, to develop a new customizable online platform that “supports all functions and processes” of the agency’s unemployment insurance benefits program. The solution must include unemployment tax, benefits payments, and case management features, the agency said in a press release announcing […]
The US Department of Labor announced it has extended the deadline to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) claims related to Tropical Storm Isaías to Jan. 29, 2021, based on Puerto Rico’s continued recovery from tropical storm impacts. Individuals who were employed or self-employed who live in Aguada, Hormigueros, Mayagüez or Rincón and became unemployed […]
The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico has assigned $10 million to the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources for technological upgrades for a system that is decades old. Agency Secretary Carlos Rivera-Santiago confirmed that the upgrade to a new data system to process unemployment information and payments will begin this […]
The Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources confirmed it has disbursed $78.5 million to some 12,662 claimants who were waiting to receive the retroactive payment of both the unemployment insurance compensation and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance aid. “Some 12,662 people will be receiving their corresponding payments in the coming days,” Labor Secretary Carlos […]
Starting today, the Puerto Rico Labor Department is moving its “drive-up” unemployment benefits document drop-off service to the Puerto Rico Convention Center in the Miramar sector of San Juan, agency Secretary Briseida Torres said. “Given the reopening of business activity and the need to provide a more efficient service to applicants, we decided to move […]
Puerto Rico’s self-employed population will be able to apply for unemployment benefits through the Labor Department starting April 28, agency Secretary Briseida Torres said. The benefit will be available for first time for independent contractors through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program created through the CARES Act signed into law Mar. 27, to aid workers whose […]
Employees or self-employed individuals — who lost their livelihood as a direct consequence of Hurricane Irma or Hurricane Maria — may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA).
Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is available to help individuals and families affected by Hurricanes Irma and María take care of necessary expenses and serious needs that are not covered by insurance or other forms of assistance.
WASHINGTON — When it comes to Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis, Washington is just as much to blame as San Juan.
Puerto Rico’s labor force had 25,000 fewer members in December, when compared to the same month in 2013, which could account for the lower unemployment rate announced by the Labor Department Tuesday.
A Dow Jones/Factiva content provider since 2014
Subscribe to our Dollars & Sense podcast!
NIMB ON SOCIAL MEDIA