Total Employment in Puerto Rico for the month of August 2022 is estimated to be at 1,098,000. This, in comparison to August 2021’s employment numbers, shows a 2.04% increase and a 0.73% increase when compared to July 2022’s total employment estimation. As for total unemployment during August 2022, it reached 70,000, which translates to an 8.5% unemployment rate. This, in comparison to August 2021’s unemployment rate, shows a 5.4% decrease.
| Non-Farm Employment (thousands) | March 2020 | August 2021 | August 2022 | Percentage Change |
| Non-Farm Payroll | 887.5 | 873.8 | 920.8 | 5.4% |
| Construction | 27.7 | 28.2 | 31.5 | 11.7% |
| Manufacturing | 76 | 76.7 | 83.3 | 8.6% |
| Retail Sales | 124.9 | 126.3 | 131.8 | 4.4% |
| Professional and Business Services | 124.4 | 129.9 | 139.8 | 7.6% |
| Finance | 45.1 | 43.9 | 46.8 | 6.6% |
| Education | 33.2 | 28.2 | 32.3 | 14.5% |
| Health Services | 85.9 | 84.8 | 86.5 | 2.0% |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 81.4 | 78.6 | 90.5 | 15.1% |
| Government | 203.5 | 193.3 | 191.9 | -0.7% |
Source: Puerto Rico Labor Department
Meanwhile, total Non-Farm Employment for August 2022 reached 920,800,000. This, in comparison to the August 2021, shows a 5.4% increase. When compared to July 2022, total non-farm employments increased by 1.10%.
When evaluating non-farm employment by categories in Puerto Rico we see, aside for the continuous contraction in the government sector, we see how employment numbers have incremented for every single sector. Especially in sectors such as Leisure and Hospitality which has seen a 15.1% growth, Education (14.5%), Construction (11.7%), and Professional and business Services (7.6%) in comparison to August 2021 numbers.
When inquiring a month-over-month comparison, every major category saw an increase in their employment rates except for Manufacturing industry which saw a decrease of -0.1% The major categories whose changes are worth noting are Education, which saw an increment of 3.9%, Leisure and Hospitality with 1.5% increment, Professional and Business Services with a growth of 1% and the Government with a 2.4% growth as well.
Employment for August 2022 is at its highest level since June 2013. Simultaneously, August 2022 portrayed the lowest ever recorded unemployment figure in Puerto Rico, reaching 5.4%. Figures reported in employment for this month are a symbol of the Puerto Rican economy’s recovery.
