Puerto Rico’s declining population, rapidly aging workforce, significant fiscal pressures and subsequent policy measures have combined to prompt a reduction in the government’s workforce over the past five years by as many as 55,000 jobs, or almost 20 percent of the public sector’s workforce.
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.
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.
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