Puerto Rico's seasonally adjusted employment rose in April from a year earlier, exceeding 1 million jobs for the first time since August, 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey.
The April figure rose 0.4% from April 2016 and was about even with March.
The bureau also compiles a survey based on a survey of workplaces. This showed that in April the seasonally adjusted employment total nonfarm employment number had fallen by 1.4% from a year earlier and 0.2% from March. The workplace survey doesn’t include agricultural employment, domestic employment, or self-employment in the total nonfarm employment numbers, said bureau economist Bruce Bergman, and this may help explain the discrepancy.
Bureau statistics show a recent rise in domestic service and farm worker employment.
The seasonally adjusted household survey showed that the unemployment rate was at 11.5% in April, unchanged from this March and April 2016.
