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Transition committee hears department report on record low unemployment and timeline for tipped‑worker rules
Summary
Department officials told the Transition 2024–2025 committee that Puerto Rico’s unemployment hit an historic low (5.4% in Oct. 2024) and outlined programs — including the Perfil job portal and Talento Infinito — while saying mandatory rules for tipped and other exempt workers will be drafted for public comment in early 2025.
An official from the Department of Labor told the Transition 2024–2025 committee that Puerto Rico reported an historic low unemployment rate — 5.4% in October 2024 — and higher labor-force participation after months of sustained improvement.
The acting subsecretary, speaking for the department, said the administration’s job‑matching portal Perfil has more than 36,000 registrants and 608 employers and highlighted targeted efforts including Talento Infinito, a program intended to increase employment for people with functional diversity, and Reinsertate, an upskilling initiative for those exhausting unemployment benefits. “Actualmente tenemos un total de treinta y seis mil, más de treinta y seis mil individuos registrados en Perfil,” the official said in the hearing.
Why it matters: Committee members framed those metrics against recent public debate about minimum‑wage increases and tipped workers. Several lawmakers cited an external economic study and asked when the department will publish the special mandatory decrees required by Law 47 (2021) that assign specific rules for tipped, agricultural and other exempt categories.
Department officials answered that the Minimum Wage Evaluating Commission continues to evaluate economic studies on tipped and agricultural workers and that the process includes preparation of an economic impact study and public hearings. The department said a public‑comment draft of the mandatory decrees is expected in February–March 2025 and that final determinations for remaining worker groups would likely fall to the commission mid‑next year.
On pandemic assistance and overpayments: Committee members raised the risk that federal authorities might require repayment of improper pandemic disbursements. The department said recoveries and criminal agreements have yielded amounts referred to Treasury but that identifying recoverable overpayments for pending cases remains an ongoing, case‑by‑case process. The department is evaluating waivers and other federal mechanisms for people who received overpayments but did not commit fraud.
On labor participation and workforce strategy: Lawmakers pressed for disaggregated participation data for women, older adults and other groups. The department provided figures from its recent publications — female participation about 37.8% in the latest release and participation for people 65+ near 5.7% — and committed to submitting segmented data to the committee. It emphasized coordinated efforts such as Microsoft training partnerships, job fairs, and employer outreach through Perfil to expand inclusion.
What’s next: The department agreed to provide the committee with the economic study for tipped workers, a schedule for the draft mandatory decrees and segmented participation statistics by age and gender. Committee members asked for follow‑up on pandemic overpayment recoveries and a list of contracts and programs funded by Law 52 to assess timelines and potential fiscal gaps.
Sources: Hearing testimony before the Transition 2024–2025 committee. Quotes and figures are drawn from department presentations and question‑and‑answer exchanges.
