Puerto Rico: Employment booms by 15.4 percent due to Tourism

By Sherrica Thompson

Staff Writer

#PuertoRico, August 20, 2022 – Since the start of 2022, Puerto Rico has seen a robust reboot of its economic engine. The country has broken its record of jobs in the leisure and hospitality sectors every month so far.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from January 2022, each month, Puerto Rico has seen a figure that surpasses the previous record to reach 86,700 workers in June of this year.

CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, Brad Dean said the country’s employment growth rate is a reflection of Puerto Rico’s growing tourism industry.

“These impressive employment numbers reflect our local tourism industry’s amazing success in growing tourism and creating new jobs, due in part to the collaboration between the public sector, private sector, and Discover Puerto Rico. Job creation is one of our most important metrics because it reflects not only economic growth but also the impact tourism has on the people of Puerto Rico,’’ Brad said.

President of the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association, Clarissa Jiménez also commented on the country’s growth since the start of the year. She said she is confident that it will continue throughout 2022 and next year.

“Tourism in Puerto Rico is, without a doubt, a great opportunity for well-paid jobs and professional growth opportunities. One of the benefits of this industry is that it offers good jobs at all levels. We continue to see an encouraging outlook for tourism in Puerto Rico, and we are confident that this will continue in the remainder of 2022 and 2023,’’ Jiménez said.

According to the BLS, in the last 12 months, jobs in the leisure and hospitality sectors have increased by 15.4 per cent.

Between January and June 2022, the tourism industry added 3,300 new jobs.