August 2013: The Truth About Jobs in PR

The winds of change have swept through Puerto Rico during the first half of 2013 and not surprisingly some have found some of this change to be rather unsettling. Critical press coverage about the recently completed legislative session has raised concerns in some corners that future economic development might suffer. Not unexpected, the legislature enacted major changes to PR’s tax policy, which increased corporate tax rates as well as imposed new taxes to curtail an estimated billionaire budget deficit for fiscal 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile, the Secretary of Economic Development and its subsidiary, the PR Trade Company, keep harping on the topic of a job creation target of 50,000 jobs within the first 18 months of this Administration. Well, 8 of those 18 months have already elapsed. It is time to review what is really happening in the Island’s labor market.