Héctor Morales, president of Puerto Rico's Planning Board, said Sunday the island's economy is "growing," defending the pace of hurricane María reconstruction projects nine years after the storm. Speaking at the "Asunto semanal" press conference from La Fortaleza, Morales credited Governor Jenniffer González's administration with an increase in non-agricultural salaried jobs reported in August. He said labor participation reached 45.9% in August 2026, a 1.3-point increase from August 2025's 44.6%, citing Department of Labor and Human Resources data from its "Empleo y desempleo en Puerto Rico" report.
Morales said about 15,000 more people were employed in August 2026 than in August 2025. He identified manufacturing, commerce, transportation, construction and mining, education, and recreation and lodging as the sectors that created the most jobs as of July. He argued growth in construction and mining shows federally funded infrastructure and improvement projects are being used and expanding.
Separately, FEMA data cited in a related El Nuevo Día report found about $8.6 billion remains unobligated for hurricane María reconstruction nine years after the storm, with the figure even higher when including other disasters since María.