Puerto Rico’s government unveiled a fiscal plan yesterday under which the commonwealth would only be able to support $2.5 billion to $14 billion of debt in the long term, a fraction of its current level, the Washington Post reported. The plan suggests that holders of its bonds might receive as little as a nickel on the dollar. Under the Puerto Rican government’s fiscal plan, the territory would pay nothing in debt service over the next five years. The plan assumes that the federal government will provide $35.3 billion in federal disaster assistance linked to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island. That figure is one third of what Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló recently requested, but still more than Congress is likely to provide. The fiscal plan is subject to approval by the oversight board that Congress established when it passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. And it would require the approval of U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who is overseeing the bankruptcy of the commonwealth, which sought court protection to restructure its more than $70 billion in debts. Read more.
Faced with worker shortages, employers are trying to lure Puerto Rico residents to the mainland with the promise of jobs for many on the island devastated by Hurricane Maria, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Department of Corrections in South Carolina began billboard advertisements in Puerto Rico to hire correctional officers, noting “Relocation Assistance Available.” The department has more than 650 such openings. Director Bryan Stirling is hoping to lure candidates with the promise of decent pay — $35,000 a year, plus overtime — and benefits. Bayada Home Health Care, which struggles to fill in-home care positions in 22 states, also set its sights on the island, which has a bounty of health care workers and an economy reeling from recession. With the U.S. unemployment rate at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, employers are straining to hire everyone from carpenters to engineers. But in Puerto Rico, where the unemployment rate is 10.8 percent, many businesses remain closed due to lack of electricity or have trimmed workforces because of depleted demand. Read more. (Subscription required.)
