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Este informe no está disponible en español. CARIBBEAN BUSINESS Pridco Reports 17.8% Increase In Company Openings And 33.3% Growth In New Jobs For Fiscal Year 2004 Pending projects could create 7,869 new jobs By MARIALBA MARTINEZ September 9, 2004 Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. (Pridco) statistics indicate there were 172 new manufacturing company openings in Puerto Rico that produced 7,659 new jobs for fiscal year (FY) 2004 (July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004), a 17.8% and 33.3% respective increase over the previous 12 months. In FY 2004, statistics show 128 new local business startups compared with 44 new local businesses in FY 2003, and 14 new nonlocal businesses versus nine new nonlocal businesses in FY 2003. Most of the new jobs created during FY 2004 were in sectors such as food products (1,672 jobs), apparel/textiles (1,100 jobs), and instruments (904 jobs) compared with the instruments (1,163 jobs), chemical products (891 jobs), and industrial equipment/machinery (550 jobs) sectors in FY 2003. Fifty companies closed and 1,659 jobs were lost in FY 2004, compared with the 42 company closings and 2,729 lost jobs in FY 2003, with company closings increasing 19% and job loss decreasing 39%. Six companies in the instruments sector lost 586 jobs, while another 14 company closings in the apparel/textiles, furniture, and equipment/machinery caused a combined loss of 637 jobs. Local company closings increased by 37% and nonlocal company closings decreased by 13%, with the number of jobs lost declining 39%. In FY 2004, Pridco promoted 177 new projects with the possibility of creating 11,190 new jobs, a slight variation over FY 2003 when the agency promoted 210 new projects that created 11,096 new jobs. Through June 30, Pridco had 113 new projects pending that could create 7,869 new jobs with an investment of $1.3 billion. Of the 113 projects pending, at least 73 are local projects that could create 1,872 new jobs while 40 are nonlocal projects that could create 5,997 new jobs. Yet new projects pending showed a marked decrease in FY 2004 when compared with FY 2003, with a 15% reduction in the number of new projects, a 16% diminishment in projected new job creation, and 7% drop in investment. This Caribbean Business article appears courtesy of Casiano Communications. or
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