The Puerto Rico Technoeconomic Corridor in Mayagüez has been selected to receive more than $7 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to join the effort to help curb long-term unemployment.
Puerto Rico’s economic activity index reflected yet another drop in August, when results were down 1.1 percent when compared to the same month last year, according to data released late Friday by the Government Development Bank.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday awards exceeding a combined $3 million for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to improve unemployment insurance programs.
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands received a combined $330,534 from the U.S. Department of Labor to implement or continue re-employment and eligibility assessments for unemployment insurance beneficiaries, the agency announced Tuesday.
Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate reached 15.2 percent in January, up slightly from the 14.6 percent on record for the same month in 2013, but down marginally from the 15.4 percent the Department of Labor and Human Resources confirmed for December 2013.
Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla said Wednesday his administration has created some 41,145 new jobs in the past 12 months, under the Jobs Now Act legislation passed in January 2013 to boost employment in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate jumped by a full percentage point year-over-year in December, when it reached 15.4 percent, Puerto Rico Labor Department statistics revealed Tuesday.
Puerto Rico’s labor market is at a crossroad, with thousands of productive workers fleeing to the U.S. mainland in search of professional opportunities that may not be available locally.
Preliminary analysis conducted by economic analysis firm Heidie Calero Consulting Group suggests the impact of new taxes implemented in Puerto Rico this month could lead to a reduction of 3.3 percent real growth during the next two fiscal years with a loss of up to 30,000 jobs.
Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate dropped to 13.7 percent in April, reaching the lowest level since 2008. However, Labor Department data released Thursday also shows that the island’s labor force decreased by 10,000 to 1.1 million last month, when compared to the prior month and by 31,000 year-over-year.
The Puerto Rico Labor Department is the island’s largest employment agency, but generally speaking, that is not something it is known for. For that reason, Labor Secretary-designate Vance Thomas will be placing special emphasis on the service, which last year had a listing of nearly 25,000 jobs available to fill.
Puerto Rico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January was 14.6 percent, representing a drop of 0.7 percentage points when compared to the same month last year, when it stood at 15.3 percent, Labor Secretary-designate Vance Thomas said Monday.
The Puerto Rico Labor Department is going after companies and government agencies that have failed, for whatever reason, to make their unemployment insurance payments for the past five or six years and now owe a combined $378 million, agency Secretary-designate Vance Thomas confirmed.
In very few elections will the economy be so present in the minds of Puerto Rico voters as in the one coming up Nov. 6.
Dr. John Stewart, who worked for many years as an economic advisor at the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, used to say that if you tortured the statistics long enough, they would tell you what you wanted to hear.
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