The Employment Service and the American Job Centers

The Employment Service is the public link between employers and job seekers. For more than 50 years it has worked with the business sector to help people find suitable work and to help employers meet their recruitment needs through referrals of qualified workers. It complies with all federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. It administers several programmes with different audiences: the Veterans Program, the Tax Credit Program (WOTC), the Agricultural Program, the Reemployment Program for Unemployment Insurance Claimants, the Interstate Job Offers Program under Ley Núm. 87, Foreign Labor Certification, and the Employment Service Employers Committee, Inc., created in 1971 to link the private sector and the Government in creating and retaining jobs.

The Employment Service serves the general public, and the Department names six groups it ensures preference for: veterans, people with disabilities, older workers, Unemployment Insurance claimants, displaced workers and agricultural workers. Each programme also has its own audience: the Veterans Program serves veterans, veterans with disabilities, members transitioning from active service and covered persons; the Reemployment Program targets Unemployment Insurance claimants before they exhaust their 26 weeks of regular benefits, including workers displaced by permanent closures or substantial layoffs; and Foreign Labor Certification receives petitions from companies and individuals seeking permission to recruit foreign nationals to work legally in Puerto Rico.

Information pending verification.

• Form PRSE-511, the job search form, which the Employment Service publishes on its page alongside the WIOA Application Package.

1. 1

   Step 1: Register as a job seeker

   Job seeker registration is the first of the services the Employment Service lists. From there the rest follow: labour market information, job orders and placements, occupational counselling, selective job promotion and referral to support services. The Department publishes form PRSE-511 for job search and the WIOA Application Package on this same page.

2. 2

   Step 2: Say if you are in one of the six priority groups

   The Employment Service ensures faithful compliance with preference for people belonging to these groups: veterans, people with disabilities, older workers, Unemployment Insurance claimants, displaced workers and agricultural workers. If you are in one of them, say so from the start; it is a rule the agency imposed on itself.

3. 3

   Step 3: If you are a veteran, two dedicated roles exist

   The Veterans Program addresses the employability needs of veterans, veterans with disabilities, members transitioning from active service and covered persons. Disabled Veterans Outreach Program representatives provide intensive services to meet the employment needs of disabled veterans, with special attention to those facing significant barriers to employment. Local Veterans Employment Representative staff facilitate priority of service in referrals to job opportunities, training and placement services.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you are collecting unemployment, do not wait for it to run out

   The Reemployment Program for Unemployment Insurance Claimants directs its services and activities toward re-entering the workforce before the 26 weeks of regular benefits are exhausted. That “before” is the point. It includes workers displaced by permanent business closures or substantial layoffs, and offers job search workshops, referrals to job openings and training.

5. 5

   Step 5: The tax credit is for the employer, not for you

   Worth understanding properly because it is an argument in your favour. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program grants a tax credit to employers who file federal Income Tax returns with the IRS. To claim it, the employer must recruit people identified within special groups established by law: participants in the Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), veterans, Vocational Rehabilitation participants and ex-convicts, among others. If you are in one of those groups, hiring you earns the employer a credit.

6. 6

   Step 6: If you work in agriculture or are looking for work off-island

   The Agricultural Program serves agricultural, migrant and seasonal workers, with guidance and basic services for employers and candidates, including referrals to agricultural job openings in the United States and Puerto Rico, such as the coffee harvest. Separately, the Interstate Job Offers Program, under Ley Núm. 87, sets the procedures for authorizing the recruitment of local workers for non-agricultural tasks in the United States.

7. 7

   Step 7: Find the office nearest you

   The Central Office is at 431 Ponce de León Ave., Nacional Plaza Bldg., 12th floor, Hato Rey, PR 00918, tel. 787-625-3137 ext. 2300 and 2508. There are twelve American Job Centers: AMSI Noroeste, Calle Progreso #100, Aguadilla City Center 6th floor, Aguadilla 00603. Norte Central, Coamo Shopping Center, Rd. 153, Coamo 00769, tel. 787-819-1501 ext. 516. Manatí/Dorado, Urbanización Cataluña at Calle 1, Rd. 140 km 68.1, Barceloneta 00617. Bayamón-Comerío, #10 Palmer St at Dr. Veve St, Bayamón 00961, tel. 787-995-1700 ext. 2903. Guaynabo/Toa Baja, Calle José Julián Acosta, Guaynabo City Hall 5th floor, Guaynabo 00970, tel. 787-720-4040 ext. 6633. AMSI Caguas, Consolidated Medical Plaza 6th floor, Calle Gautier Benítez 200 off. 601, Caguas 00727, tel. 787-744-5329 ext. 4424. Carolina, Calle Amadeo at Bernardo García, Edificio Portales 1st floor, Carolina 00985-0899, tel. 787-752-4090 ext. 1101. Mayagüez-Las Marías, 5 Calle Ramón E. Betances Sur at Ramos Antonini #10, Mayagüez 00680, tel. 787-834-8011 ext. 2439. Ponce, Calle Isabel #61-63, PO Box 331709, Ponce 00733-1709, tel. 787-842-1150 ext. 4003 and 787-840-2900 ext. 4005 and 4057. Suroeste, Plaza Pitito apt. 264, Barrio Hoconuco #2, km 170.0, San Germán 00683, tel. 787-892-1000 and 2104 ext. 3020. San Juan, Calle Georgetti #82, Río Piedras 00925, tel. 787-480-5680 and 787-480-8810. La Montaña, 3 Calle Barceló, Suite #800, Barranquitas 00794-9419, tel. (787) 857-5335 ext. 256.

At the Employment Service Central Office, 431 Ponce de León Ave., Nacional Plaza Bldg., 12th floor, Hato Rey, PR 00918, tel. 787-625-3137 ext. 2300 and 2508, or at any of the twelve American Job Centers: Aguadilla, Coamo, Barceloneta, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Caguas, Carolina, Mayagüez, Ponce, San Germán, Río Piedras and Barranquitas.

• Waiting to exhaust the 26 weeks of unemployment before approaching reemployment services.
• Not saying you are a veteran, a person with a disability, an older worker, displaced or agricultural: these are declared priority groups.
• Believing the WOTC tax credit is a payment to the worker, when it is a credit for the employer who hires you.
• Going to the Central Office in Hato Rey when there is a nearer American Job Center.
• Looking for agricultural openings in the United States on your own, when the Agricultural Program makes that referral.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos (DTRH)

  Departamento del Trabajo

  www.trabajo.pr.gov