Puerto Rico has been included in the list of states and territories that will receive funding for unemployment insurance program integrity, performance and system improvement projects, getting an assignment of $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate stood at 14.8 percent in April, representing the lowest level in 16 months. The number of employed people on the island increased by 22,000, while those on the unemployment lines were the lowest in the last four months.
Labor Department statistics released over the weekend put Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate at 15 percent for the month of February, reflecting a 0.1 percentage point drop in comparison to the prior month’s level and a 1.2 percentage drop decrease from the 16.2 percent rate on record for February 2011.
The Puerto Rico Labor Department said Friday that the island’s unemployment rate for the month of July clocked in at 16.3 percent, reflecting a year-over-year drop of 0.6 percentage points, but a 1.1 percentage point increase when compared to June.
The island’s persistently high unemployment rate dropped slightly to 16.2 percent in April, representing a 0.7 percentage point reduction from the 16.9 percent rate on record for the same month last year. When compared to March 2010, the current rate is also down, by 0.6 percentage points, Labor Department statistics released Thursday revealed.
Puerto Rico’s workforce fell to 41.4 percent in January 2011, representing the lowest participation rate recorded for the month of January since 1983, when the number reached 40.7 percent, the Labor Department informed Friday.
Puerto Rico’s out-of-work force averaged 16.1 percent during calendar year 2010, representing the highest rate since 1993, when the average was 17 percent, the Department of Labor and Human Resources informed Friday.
Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate remained flat in November, compared to the same month in 2009 and the month of October, Labor Department statistics released Friday showed.
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