Puerto Rico got a mixed March employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday.
In March total employment on the island was up 0.8% from a year earlier, though it was down 0.35% from a month earlier, according to the bureau's household survey.
In the month unemployment rate stepped up 0.1 percentage point to 11.8% from a month earlier. The rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than in March 2015.
The household survey is based on a survey in which the bureau asks people whether they are employed.
The bureau also conducts an establishment survey that asks employers how many people they employ. This showed total nonfarm employment fell 1.4% from a year earlier and 0.1% from a month earlier. It showed that total nonfarm private sector employment was down 1.4% from a year earlier and 0.2% from a month earlier.
The bureau seasonally adjusted all of the data in these calculations.
