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BASED ON NEW BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SURVEY
Labor: Unemployment at 9.8 percent
Department of Labor Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero said last week a prevailing wage survey for the CNMI would be out shortly as well as a behavioral survey conducted through the local hospital revealing a 9.80percent unemployment rate in the Commonwealth.
DeLeon Guerrero was responding to various questions on labor and immigration in the CNMI.
“We are working on the next prevailing wage survey. The secretary of Commerce is already putting out the plans for that. They just finished a behavioral survey for the hospital,” she said.
Saipan Tribune learned the preliminary findings of the this CNMI Behavioral Health Survey was shared in the Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ position paper submitted to federal government counterparts as part of “Section 902” talks last month.
The 9.8-percent unemployment comes from a total labor force of 24,109.
The Labor secretary said part of the prevailing wage survey—to be issued by the Department of Commerce—would embrace a workforce assessment survey as well.
The behavioral survey found an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, she said.
“So look at all the statistical analyses—and this latest one came out at an lower unemployment rate—which is a good thing,” she said, referring to the 2010 Census reported unemployment rate of 11.2 percent and the recent broadband survey’s 11.9 percent.
She said on her insistence, a workforce assessment component was inserted into the behavioral survey to capture workforce information.
