Where are the jobs?
By : EVA LLORÉNS VÉLEZ
Edition: July 5, 2012 | Volume: 40 | No: 26
Despite the sluggish economy, there are companies hiring out there
A few good jobs
There’s a long line of professionals looking for work in the market with the lowest labor-force participation rate in the U.S. The good news is that there are businesses looking to hire.
It is no secret that job layoffs have become the norm in today's economic recession. People who are graduating college, changing careers or just looking for new jobs after cutbacks are wondering where the jobs are in Puerto Rico.
The good news is that there are businesses looking for workers despite the sluggish economy.
Executives from employment agencies say the northern San Juan metro area and Caguas are the regions in Puerto Rico where the lion's share of the jobs are to be had.
Generally speaking, jobs with the most demand are in the healthcare industry, and the client service and service sectors. There is also a demand in the area of sales and finance.
Meanwhile, many companies are having a tough time finding applicants in certain fields. The positions that are the hardest to fill for most companies because of the specialized knowledge required are in the areas of engineering, information systems and accounting.
Which professionals are having a tough time finding jobs? These are the public relations specialists, social workers, psychologists and lawyers.
"There is a high number of attorneys looking for work and little demand," noted Terry Ryan, head of Ryan Executive & Outplacement.
What the current employment environment demands from most job seekers, experts such as Ryan say, is that they be flexible. They may start a new job earning up to 12% less than expected. Employment agency executives noted that companies are willing to provide more in salaries and benefits to keep a good worker once they try the new employee.
The highest-paying jobs for recent college graduates may be in the areas of accounting or finance at the clerical level, but some experts have noted that entry-level jobs are generally low paying.
In Puerto Rico, contrary to the mainland U.S., older workers seeking jobs are going to have an easier time finding them because companies like experienced workers in the current economy. However, older workers seeking to supplement their retirement incomes will be most likely to find jobs in the retail and healthcare sectors.
JOBS IN HIGHEST DEMAND
A Puerto Rico Labor & Human Resources Department study predicted that by 2018, the jobs that will be in highest demand will be data and network systems analysts, healthcare workers, pharmacy technicians, funeral services attendants, engineers, security alarm technicians, personal finance planners, security guards and cardiovascular technicians. The results of the study didn't differ greatly from what employment agencies told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS.
Ryan said his firm has seen a high demand for electrical and mechanical engineers.
"Many companies are now expanding and renovating," he said.
Rupert Amy, chairman of the board at Careers Inc., said his firm has received more requests for accountants, controllers and finance directors.
"I don't know why, but we are starting to get out of difficult times after five years and many companies are reinforcing their finance areas," Amy said.
He also noted a high demand for experienced salespeople and in manufacturing, where local labor numbers are showing a decline.
"Despite what you might have heard, there are expansions taking place in the area of manufacturing," Amy said.
Jobs are also in high demand in the retail sector as new stores come to Puerto Rico. Ryan added that despite what the public might think, there is a high demand in the pharmaceutical industry because many companies are creating new medications to fight diseases as their patents on existing medications expire. He also said the banking industry is "hiring workers aggressively" because they are expanding into the insurance and stock brokerage industries.
SuhailPastrana, operations manager for PSS Pathfinders Inc., an employment agency, said healthcare workers, pharmacy technicians, bill collectors, service representatives and telemarketing workers are currently in high demand.
The need for healthcare workers as well as pharmacy technicians is growing because the population of senior citizens has surpassed the number of young people and children on the island.
Pastrana also highlighted the demand for bill collectors, as businesses reinforce these areas of their operations and more people file for bankruptcy.
Annette Maldonado, general manager for Force Temporary Service Inc. in Hato Rey, said there is a high demand in sales, insurance analysis, client services and telemarketing because of growth in the retail sector. Demand for telemarketers, or agents who solicit prospective customers to buy products or services, is growing as businesses try to find sales leads and build a customer database.
Javier Rodríguez, head of Management Recruiters PR, said that in his area, businesses are always on the lookout not only for managers, but also for good candidates who can perform well in the area of sales and marketing.
"People are looking for clients," he said. "They want people who are bilingual."
While some employment agencies noted that demand for secretaries appears to have gone down because of cutbacks and the widespread use of computers, Ryan said "there is and always will be a demand for good administrative assistants."
Tamara Vigoreaux, manager for Creative Financial Staffing of Puerto Rico, said accounting and finance jobs are not only the ones with the most demand, in her opinion, but also some of the hardest to fill because of the rigorous requirements for those jobs.
THE HARDEST JOBS TO FILL
Vigoreaux also said nursing jobs are "challenging" to fill.
"A lot of people send résumés, but they then don't show up," she said.
Nurses in Puerto Rico aren't very well paid, and a lot of them are moving to the mainland U.S. in search of better salaries. According to the local Labor Department and other studies reviewed by CARIBBEAN BUSINESS, some of the most difficult jobs to fill are in the skilled trades, as well as engineers, information technology staff, sales representatives and accounting & finance staff. Companies are having a tough time finding talent to fill in such positions as many graduating students, as well as professionals, are leaving the island in search of jobs and better living opportunities.
"These individuals are also snatched up by other companies, or go from company to company in search of a better job," Rodríguez said.
Pastrana also included human resources specialists among the professionals that are hard to recruit.
"Positions in the areas of accounting, information technology and human resources are also hard to fill because these are highly technical positions, but are also positions of trust as far as companies are concerned," she said.
Ryan said mechanical and electrical engineers are most often identified by employers as being in short supply, but noted that in Puerto Rico, the demand for civil engineers is very low. He attributed the short supply in these fields to a lack of focus upon the development of science and technology skills.
While sales representatives are in demand, they are also difficult positions to fill because more companies are looking for this type of professional to rapidly drive up sales.
Employment agency officials interviewed by CARIBBEAN BUSINESS declined to say which kinds of jobs are in the least demand, noting that businesses are looking for a vast amount of experience. Ryan volunteered that there is little demand for lawyers.
"There are a lot of unemployed lawyers out there," he said. "I will also say public relations officials, psychologists and social workers."
A MISMATCH BETWEEN COLLEGE GRADUATES AND MARKET NEEDS
Among many other workers, college graduates are having a difficult time trying to find a job. However, according to statistics and officials, there is a reason for this: Students aren't majoring in fields in which employers are hiring.
A business degree is one of the most sought after majors that correspond with opportunities in the economy, but it is chosen by only 22% of students, according to the National Center on Education Statistics. The National Association of Colleges & Employers reported that 63% of companies are looking to hire business majors, second after engineering.
While 11% of graduates majored in degrees related to social sciences and history, only 16% of employers are looking for people majoring in these fields.
The healthcare professions have long been considered recession-proof, but only around 8% of students majored in these fields. Experts say that while nursing and outpatient care will add more jobs than average, staffing at hospitals and medical offices will be harder to fill over the next five years.
Engineering is one of the majors most sought after by employers, including associated fields. However, only 5% of college graduates majored in engineering.
Biological sciences are expected to continue growing because of innovations in the biomedical fields and growth in the area of scientific research & development. However, only about 5% of all college graduates major in sciences. Only 1.4% of college graduates major in physical sciences, another of the fields where employers are looking for job candidates.
The areas of visual and performing arts, which account for 6% of college graduates, are among the least tapped by companies.
The same goes for education, because of government budget cuts. Meanwhile, 6% of college students choose to major in educational fields. The field of psychology is expected to grow by 3% over the next few years, but only 6% of all college graduates choose it.
"I would advise students to study chemical engineering, management or finance because they are more marketable," Ryan noted. "Medicine is a long career, but you aren't going to starve. I don't advise law."
He also advised college students to enroll in internships that will allow them to learn relevant job skills. He said good entry-level jobs for college graduates are in the areas of pharmacy and retail because they provide training.
Asked about the best entry-level jobs for college graduates, Pastrana said there is a need for everything. She said the most important thing is to have the attitude to work and grow. She also noted that the tourism and healthcare fields provide some of the best entry-level jobs.
Other human resources officials said some of the best entry-level jobs are in the areas of accounting and finance because recent graduates usually start as assistants and can work their way up.
Amy said it is ridiculous for a college graduate with no experience to expect to obtain a high-paying job.
"You pay for experience," he said. "Even if you have a tremendous degree or a master's degree, they are still entry-level."
WHERE ARE THE JOBS?
Puerto Rico labor statistics for May show there were one million people employed in Puerto Rico and 171,000 unemployed. Critics, however, have questioned the validity of the statistics.
José JoaquínVillamil, president & CEO of EstudiosTécnicos, said the confusion stems from different figures provided by the Households Survey and the Establishments Survey, both of them published by the Labor Department. He said the Establishments Survey puts the number of salaried workers at around 700,000 and doesn't include public sector workers or the self-employed. The Labor Department uses the Households Survey when it publishes its employment and unemployment statistics because it includes all workers.
"The 700,000 number is the number of people employed in the private sector," Villamil said. "But if you add up the self-employed and the government workers, the one million figure is about right."
Vicente Feliciano, president of Advantage Business Consulting, disagreed in part.
He said the Households Survey upon which the Labor Department bases its labor statistics is unreliable because it consists of more subjective one-on-one interviews. He noted that the Establishments Survey, which is also published by the Labor Department, is more reliable because it relies on tax returns submitted by businesses.
"The Households Survey is inconsistent with the economy. When the Government Development Bank prepares its economic index, it uses the Establishments Survey and not the Households Survey. That just goes to show you," he said.
Nonetheless, he did agree with Villamil's assertion that the Establishments Survey leaves out a portion of the working population.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes both surveys. In one table, it put the number of employed individuals in Puerto Rico at one million for May, but the number of unemployed at 180,000. Another table, based on the Establishments Survey for Puerto Rico, puts the number of employed for May 2011 at 922,000. The number of people employed in May of this year, meanwhile, was 919,500.
With Puerto Rico's very low labor-force participation rate—39%— many businesspeople feel there is something wrong with these reported figures and that the real number of people looking for jobs could be as many as 300,000 and several hundred more not working but not actually looking for work. They live off Social Security and other federal programs.
Employment experts interviewed by CARIBBEAN BUSINESS, as well as Labor Department, statistics say most of the jobs in Puerto Rico are concentrated in highly populated areas, such as the San Juan metro area.
However, Labor Department statistics for May show an increase in some of Puerto Rico's other statistical regions, of which there are 17 in all.
The San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo statistical metropolitan area, comprising some 40 towns, is indeed where most of the jobs are located in Puerto Rico. This area had 847,000 workers in May compared with 843,600 in May 2011.
The Aguadilla, Isabela and San Sebastián statistical metropolitan area added 1,400 new jobs in May compared with April, but still had fewer workers compared with May 2011. The Ponce statistical area, which comprises three towns, had 86,900 workers in May compared with 86,000 workers in May 2011.
The Mayagüez metropolitan statistical area, which comprises two towns, had 35,100 workers in May compared with 34,100 in May 2011.
The municipalities with the highest rates of unemployment are Comerío, Maunabo, Coamo, Yabucoa, Patillas and Utuado.
Pastrana said the zones that include Bayamón, Carolina and Caguas, as well as the San Juan metropolitan area, are where the highest concentration of offices are located.
"The southwestern area is developing," she said. "It isn't frequent, but I get requests from Aguadilla and some western towns. There are opportunities in retail."
Rodríguez and Vigoreaux said that while most of the jobs in the metropolitan area are in the areas of services, sales and marketing, most of the manufacturing jobs available are still in towns outside the metro area.
Vigoreaux noted that in her 13 years in the employment services field, she has never received requests to fill positions in small towns such as Coamo, Santa Isabel and Florida. In small towns, job seekers may be able to find jobs in the area of retail, while other skilled professionals are going to have a tough time securing employment in their areas.
Residents of small towns such as Las Marías, which has 4,640 employed people; Vieques, which has 3,130 people working; Maricao, which has 1,680; and Utuado, with 8,340, will have a difficult time finding jobs in these towns and will be forced to travel out of their jurisdictions to get work, officials say.
Mayors in most of these areas have launched initiatives to allow residents to create their own jobs and provide services to others.
Although the economy continues to face many challenges, start-up initiatives are very much alive.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT & START-UPS
Labor Secretary Miguel Romero recently noted a hike in self-employment numbers as more and more people try to create their own jobs.
As of May 2012, the number of self-employed individuals in Puerto Rico was 174,000, up from 173,000 in April. The Labor Department didn't say which areas are seeing the most self-employment, but officials say it is happening throughout the island.
Many municipalities are forming consortiums to create start-up companies or business incubators, mostly in the technological fields. One such initiative can be found at Inteco, the Eastern Central Technological Initiative, which a few years ago opened up a business incubator that has helped more than 30 businesses.
Several northern towns also joined forces a few years ago to create Internor, the Northern Technological Initiative, which is also helping residents create start-up companies as it develops a climate attractive to technology companies.
The plan includes such new projects as a Wyndham hotel, an 800,000-square-foot shopping mall, a global hub for chemical production and distribution, improvements in the region's infrastructure, new public spaces, even expansions of the academic and health institutions—15 signature projects in all, at an estimated investment of nearly $1 billion and the creation of some 15,000 jobs over the next few years.