Puerto Rico’s employment rebound is outpacing that of the United States, Federal Reserve officials said Friday.
They pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing the island’s employment in October was up 1% since October 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparison, U.S. employment was down 3% in the period. New York City was down 10%.
Brian Tumulty
On Friday morning the bureau released November’s figures that showed Puerto Rico employment was up 2.3% from November 2019 and up 1% from October 2021. U.S. employment was down 2.1% in November from November 2019.
By comparison, employment in the U.S. Virgin Islands was down about 10% in October 2021 from October 2019.
New York Fed Research Officer Jason Bram said Puerto Rico has done a better job keeping the virus under control than other parts of the United States. He said its economy is much less dependent on tourism than the Virgin Islands’ economy.
The last 18 months has been a period of expansion for the Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical and medical device industry, Bram said. Federal aid to the island for the 2017 hurricanes has been slower to arrive in Puerto Rico than it has in the Virgin Islands but is now flowing better in the larger territory, helping Puerto Rico’s construction employment.
Leisure and hospitality employment has fully rebounded in Puerto Rico and is near the high for the last 10 years, Bram said.
New York Fed Function Head Jaison Abel said Puerto Rico has had a “pretty strong recovery. This is a tremendous feat for the island.”
While the New York Fed talked about the economy of the Northeast Second District, which it defines to include Puerto Rico and the USVI, the Puerto Rico Oversight Board held a meeting focusing on economic development.
Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development Secretary Manuel Cidre said the island’s strategy was to move from a manufacturing-focused economy to a multi-sector economy. The latter would be based on small- and medium-sized enterprises, local entrepreneurship, biosciences, and information technology.
Cidre said his department’s focus for competitiveness was on improving logistics, energy supply and prices, tax and incentive policy, talent, innovative capabilities, and ease of doing business. As for the last, Cidre said the government is working to improve the business permitting process.
Puerto Rico should focus on being a source of innovative services, Cidre said.
Board Chairman David Skeel thanked Cidre for consolidating fiscal offices under him. Skeel said the board is seeking this from many parts of the government and Cidre’s department is one of the only departments to actually make headway.
Later in the meeting, Discover Puerto Rico Chief Executive Officer Brad Dean said 2021 would “undoubtedly” turn out to be the biggest year for tourism in Puerto Rico’s history.
Dean said lodging revenues so far in 2021 were up 35% from the previous record in 2019. He said tourism-related tax revenue was up 16% from 2019.
Dean said Puerto Rico, if it took the right steps, might be the only U.S. state or territory able to double its tourism revenue in the next five years.