SAN JUAN – Puerto Rican businessmen on Wednesday launched a campaign to promote their services and products made on the island as a way to stimulate the U.S. commonwealth’s weakened economy, which has been in decline since before the global crisis.

“Our island is going through a period of extensive contraction that we will be able to halt only by urgent action by all sectors,” said the president of the Puerto Rican industrialists association, or AIPR, Josen Rossi.

For the AIPR and Products Association of Puerto Rico, a seal or stamp has been created with the Spanish word for “buy” (compra) surrounded by the phrase – in Spanish – “Products and services made in Puerto Rico.”

Rossi emphasized that for each dollar dedicated to buying products made in Puerto Rico, approximately 70 cents was invested in the economy of the U.S. commonwealth, and he asked society to make an effort to consume locally-made items.

The business leader said that it is fundamental for much more buying to occur in Puerto Rico and he offered the opinion that the entity that must set the first example is the government.

For every additional $1 million the government spends in buying from local firms, about 25 jobs are created, he said.

The business leaders did not report how much the publicity campaign will cost, but it will be carried by the island’s assorted communications media to urge people to buy Puerto Rican.

Puerto Rico, according to data provided by business leaders, imports up to 99 percent of the high technology products it consumes, but only 15 to 20 percent of the products in certain other sectors.

The Caribbean island is experiencing its fourth year of economic crisis, which is made more acute by a budget deficit of $3.2 billion.

Unemployment last December stood at 14.3 percent, down from 15.5 percent.

Wednesday brought news on the employment front, as Puerto Rico Labor Secretary Miguel Romero announced the granting of $3.3 million to Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc. to hire 1,000 additional workers for its stores on the island.

Romero said that the money will go to the Puerto Rican unit of the U.S. retailing giant via the Occupational Development and Human Resources Council, and the funds will come from the state reserve of the Workforce Investment Act.

Meanwhile, the head of Corporate Affairs for Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Ivan Baez, said that his company is in the middle of a process of growth on the island, a circumstance that will allow it to open two new stores this year.

Baez said that although the new employees will be subsidized during the year by the Labor Department, Wal-Mart is committed to retaining all workers it hires once they have been with the firm for 12 months, provided they have complied with the specified work requirements. EFE