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Puerto Rico (US) — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Puerto Rico (US), 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
5.99%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -63.0% since 1991
Unemployment for Puerto Rico (US) was 5.99% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 16.93% in 1992. The lowest was 5.64% in 2024 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -2.88% per year.
Puerto Rico (US) ranks 77 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 41%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 5.99%, so Puerto Rico (US) sits level with it. It peaked in 1992 and has fallen 65% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 50%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
5.99%
First (1991)
16.18%
Change
-63.0%
Highest
16.93%
in 1992
Lowest
5.64%
in 2024
Average
11.81%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-2.88%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.99% |
| 2024 | 5.64% |
| 2023 | 5.73% |
| 2022 | 6% |
| 2021 | 7.9% |
| 2020 | 8.89% |
| 2019 | 8.3% |
| 2018 | 9.2% |
| 2017 | 10.8% |
| 2016 | 11.8% |
| 2015 | 12% |
| 2014 | 13.9% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.