Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
www.theweeklyjournal.com
>Carlos Rivera Giusti
Wednesday, February 10-16, 2021 - // no. 094
Puerto Rico Govt’s FY 2021 Budget P6 Bondholders Argue Their Case P8 Full Plate to Spur Economy P9
Job Hunting During the Coronavirus Pandemic Puerto Rico’s challenging labor market
T
>Courtesy of La Concha
Giovanna Garofalo
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Style P14-15
ggarofalo@wjournalpr.com
@giopgarofalo
he COVID-19 pandemic has cost tens of thousands of jobs in Puerto Rico, the island’s Labor Department revealed in its latest findings. The agency’s most updated labor market data, corresponding to December 2020, revealed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment data that month was 9.1 percent, excluding workers who have been furloughed because of COVID-19.
If the latter were to be included, the unemployment rate for December 2020 would have been 11.6 percent and would have surpassed 15 percent at a certain point throughout the pandemic, designated Labor Secretary Carlos Rivera Santiago told THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. All in all, roughly 70,400 non-agricultural workers lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, with many more furloughed. “Throughout the pandemic, we have received… over 700,000 unemployment benefit applications. GO TO PAGE 4