Pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing is one of the most important components of the Puerto Rican economy. In the 2020 fiscal year, this sector received more than $30 billion in net income. Compared to 2019, net income for this sector increased by 0.03%. We can expect this total to decrease for FY2021 due to the recession caused by COVID, which led to a decrease in elective surgeries and financial issues for hospitals throughout the United States.
Employment in pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing in 2020 was 13,402. From the data we have for employment in manufacturing as a whole, we can see that it has increased since the beginning of the pandemic, as pharmaceutical manufacturing being the leader in overall manufacturing, we can expect this trend to be reflected here as well.
Even though employment and establishments in this industry as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics have both decreased in the past 10 years, it remains a cornerstone of the island’s economy heading into the post-COVID recovery period.
