Puerto Rico employment numbers were mixed in July.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey showed July employment was down 0.06% from the June total.
The bureau also releases an employment survey of non-farm establishments and this showed an increase of 0.4% from June. The survey does not include self-employment.
July’s household survey total was up 0.7% from the July 2020 figure. The establishment survey figure for July was up 4% in the same period.
"The Puerto Rico economy is doing quite well as a result of the Covid-related transfers from the Federal government," said Vicente Feliciano, president of Advantage Business Consulting. A factor to keep in mind is that to the extent that Puerto Rico gets a similar funding compared to the U.S., "the impact on the local economy is larger. If everybody gets a check for $1,400, the impact is larger in Puerto Rico."
What will happen as these funds taper off is still to be seen, Feliciano said.
Looking at a longer-term perspective, July’s household figure was down 0.3% from the July 2016 figure. The July establishment survey total was down 4.3% from the total for July 2016.
Private sector employment trends can also be determined from the establishment survey. July’s total private sector employment was down 0.4% from the June total, up 5% from the July 2020 total, and down 0.6% from July 2016.
In other Puerto Rico economic news, on Aug. 13 the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico reported that the Economic Activity Index was down 0.5% in June from May, but up 8% from June 2020.
