Puerto Rico’s economic activity index went up for the first time in five months in October.
The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico said the index climbed 0.4% from a year earlier, following four consecutive months of year-over-year declines.
Three of the four index readings went up in October from readings a year earlier. Non-farm payroll employment rose 0.3%, electric power generation jumped 6.6%, and cement sales climbed 5.1%.
Gasoline consumption was the exception, declining 2.9%.
The bank said that by October 2018 electricity had been restored to all of Puerto Rico that would ultimately be capable of getting electricity restored it after the summer 2017 hurricanes. This lessens the hurricanes’ impact on the direction of the year-over-year statistics.
In October the index went up 0.3% from September. The index has gone up on a month-to-month basis four out of the last five months.
