Puerto Rico's economic activity index rose 0.1% in July from June, the first month-over-month increase since February 2015.
Compared with a year earlier, the July index level has fallen 1.6%.
Three of the four index components showed declines on a year-over-year basis. The declining measurements were non-farm payroll employment, which went down 0.2%; electric power generation, which contracted 2.1%; and cement sales, which shrank 23.2%.
The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority estimated that gasoline consumption was up 3.7% in July from a year earlier.
The index in July was even with its value in April.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey indicated that total Puerto Rico employment in July increased 1.6% from a year earlier. The divergence from the non-farm payroll movement reported above may be because the household survey includes agricultural and self-employment, which aren't in the non-farm payroll employment measure.
