By The Star Staff
In order to continue strengthening the island’s labor market and economy, the Department of Labor and Human Resources announced on Monday the allocation of $11.9 million in incentives to promote the creation and retention of some 770 jobs through various private employers, representatives of several economic sectors, and nonprofit entities.
The incentives come from the Fund for the Promotion of Work Opportunities created by Law No. 52-1991 and mainly support small and midsize enterprises so that they can hire and retain more young people, people with functional diversity, older adults, and citizens with criminal records, and offer first employment experiences, among other purposes.
“For the current fiscal year, 261 employers from the private sector and nonprofit organizations met the requirements for orientation and submission of proposals and were selected to receive incentives aimed at job creation and retention, which this time exceed $11 million,” Labor and Human Resources Secretary Gabriel Maldonado González said. “Although we have the lowest unemployment rate in our history at 5.8% and the highest levels of labor participation and employment in over a decade, these incentives are one of the tools our agency has to continue to support job creation in small and midsize businesses, the insertion of more people into the workforce through diversity, equity and inclusion, the historic reduction in the unemployment rate and, in the case of nonprofit entities, it is also possible to ensure the delivery of essential services to the population segments that need them most, in accordance with the public policy of Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi.”
In the case of the 51 nonprofit entities, total funds to be received amounts to $2,153,525, with which 126 jobs will be supported that involve the work of providing community impact services, education, health and financial education, among others, aimed at the island’s most disadvantaged populations. Meanwhile, the funds allocated to the 210 employers of the private sector total $9,751,080, for the creation and retention of 644 jobs in the sectors of manufacturing, services, agriculture, tourism, education and food, among others.