The decade that ends next year may be recorded in history as the one with the highest exodus of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland since the 1950s, a period in which 447,000 islanders moved to the United States in search of a better life.

The information is contained in a Senate Labor, Veteran Affairs and Human Resources Committee report, which is recommending the government take the needed steps to stop the “brain power” drain out of Puerto Rico. The report contends that in the long run, the tendency will have a negative impact on the economy as it will make it more difficult for the government to implement a knowledge based-economy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community poll, from 2000 to 2007 an estimated 359,585 Puerto Ricans left the island. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute suggested, however, that the number may be closer to 190,000 people, taking into account that many of these individuals eventually return to Puerto Rico.

“The fleeing of human resources or fleeing of brain power has taken individuals prepared in high technology fields out of the island,” says the report, penned by Committee Chairwoman Lucy Arce.

The numbers, according to officials, could go up with the recent massive layoffs of government workers, unless the Fortuño government takes an active role in promoting conditions that would allow professionals and college graduates to stay in Puerto Rico by finding appropriate jobs.

A survey done by the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus found that of the 556 members of the 2007-08 graduating class, only 30 percent stayed in Puerto Rico, as the majority pursued graduate studies or jobs out of the island.

The Statistics Institute said in recent Senate public hearings that the Community poll suggests that 359,585 people left the island in the first seven years of the 2000-2010 decade, using as a basis a question that asked people for their last residential address, but the statistics do not take into account the “return migration.” As a result, officials believe 190,000 may have left the island from 2000 to 2007. If the numbers reflect reality, there is a high probability that “the first decade of this millennium will be known as the second great exodus.” The numbers represent 2.5 percent to 5 percent of Puerto Rico’s total population.
Regarding the characteristics of people who are leaving Puerto Rico, the Community survey contends that in the year 2006-07, the people who left tend to be young and more educated than the people who opted to stay on the island. These individuals are educated in the areas of technology, health, and business and they merely leave “in search of better opportunities” and “a better quality of life.”

Labor Department officials, according to the report, have expressed concerns about professionals fleeing the island and are urging the government to establish better working conditions. For instance, the agency promoted a minimum salary for nurses to stop these health professionals from leaving, as there has been a local nursing shortage that became law in 2006. However, hospitals submitted a petition in the courts calling for an injunction so they would not be penalized for not paying the minimum wage. According to the report, the litigation is still in court.

Still, the Labor Development Bureau obtained grants that helped yield $70 million for the creation of new jobs in fiscal year 2007-08.
The report quotes Jorge Duany, a professor and expert in migratory patterns, as stating that Puerto Rico has become a transnational nation. He warned that the island in the post-Section 936 tax incentives era, more than ever, needs to retain specialized professionals that can help jump start the economy.

“The public policy must be headed to one that can lead to a knowledge based economy … and the efficient use of knowledge infrastructure,” the report states.

The government must also take a more active role in helping local or Puerto Rico based industries establish themselves outside of Puerto Rico, says the report. With the recent changes to the Closing Law, which according to the United Retailers Association, will end up hurting small and mid-sized business owned by local residents, the government of Puerto Rico is actually doing the opposite of helping the locally-owned economy.