Virgin Islands (U.S.)

**No new official government, ILO, or World Bank releases on youth (15-24) or male-specific unemployment for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI/VIR) were identified in the last 60 days (roughly May–early July 2026).** Existing modeled/estimated figures remain the most recent available, aligning with the baseline (e.g., World Bank youth male unemployment 15-24 at 20.6% for 2025; total youth unemployment around 24.2% for 2025 per FRED and other aggregators).[[1]](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.MA.ZS?locations=JO)[[2]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSVIR)[[3]](https://statisticsoftheworld.com/country/us-virgin-islands/youth-unemployment)

**Positive labor market notes (not youth-specific):** On May 8, 2026, the USVI Department of Labor (VIDOL) announced the territory had fully repaid its federal Title XII Unemployment Insurance loan principal ($11,888,166 on April 30, 2026), restoring solvency to the UI Trust Fund and eliminating FUTA credit reductions for employers in 2026. Insured unemployment rates stayed low (e.g., 0.49–0.74% in May–June 2026 per FRED). VIDOL highlighted strong participation in 2026 summer youth employment programs. A June 16, 2026, update referencing KIDS COUNT data noted lower overall unemployment, higher graduation rates, rising incomes, and improved family outcomes.[[4]](https://www.vidol.gov/news/virgin-islands-achieves-historic-milestone-in-elimination-of-federal-unemployment-debt/)[[5]](https://www.vi.gov/kids-count-data-confirms-virgin-islands-families-are-seeing-real-progress-under-bryan-roach-administration/)[[6]](https://www.facebook.com/USVIDOL/posts/press-release-vidol-announces-strong-response-to-2026-summer-youth-employment-pr/1469533528549834/)

**No significant political, security, or economic shocks** (protests/coups/militia activity/currency issues) specifically tied to young men (18-35) in the last 60 days. Routine events included festivals (e.g., St. Thomas Carnival April 26–May 2; various June–July events) and budget/legislative activity.[[7]](https://vacationvi.com/usvi-events-and-festivals-2026/)[[8]](https://www.visitusvi.com/carnivals-festivals/)

**Notable infrastructure/power issues with secondary effects:** Multiple island-wide blackouts occurred, including a total blackout on St. Thomas and St. John over the May 30–31, 2026 weekend (second in the period; linked to mechanical faults at a power plant and WAPA operational instability) and another on June 18, 2026. These caused temporary internet/connectivity drops (e.g., via providers like VI Powernet) and prompted a small resident protest/rally outside the Legislature on June 2, 2026, over WAPA reliability. Power issues have broader economic and daily-life impacts but do not appear to represent a major escalation from prior patterns. No deliberate internet/mobile shutdowns, major new rollouts, or coverage changes were reported.[[9]](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-05-31/blackout-hits-u-s-virgin-islands-for-second-time-this-weekend)[[10]](https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/05/31/Virgin-Islands-blackouts/6001780275047/)[[11]](https://stthomassource.com/content/2026/06/02/residents-rally-outside-legislature-as-wapa-outages-fuel-frustration/)

**NGO/academic reports:** The main 2025 youth-focused item is the St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book (“When Data Speaks: The Voices of Our Children”) and dashboard, released November 2025 (with related updates referencing progress in June 2026). A USVI Department of Health 2025 Epidemiology Annual Report came out in April 2026. No major new NGO or academic youth reports from 2025 (or 2026) appeared in recent coverage.[[12]](https://www.stxfoundation.org/news/kids-count-and-speak-in-new-report-on-usvi-youth/)[[13]](https://stthomassource.com/content/2025/11/19/kids-count-and-speak-in-new-report-on-usvi-youth/)

**Overall assessment:** No developments in the last 60 days appear to significantly shift the instability picture from the provided baseline (youth male unemployment 20.6% in 2025; national fuse score 58.9/100). The UI debt repayment and summer youth program activity are modestly positive; recurring power outages represent ongoing challenges with limited protest activity but no broader unrest or data revisions. Sources are primarily official USVI government sites, FRED/World Bank data portals, and local news.

**Virgin Islands (U.S.) / USVI-specific or relevant non-inference data sources (focusing on labor, economic/youth indicators, regional LAC coverage, news, and NGO data):**

- **Virgin Islands Department of Labor (VIDOL) / VIeWS (e.g., LAUS unemployment, QCEW, CES employment/wages)**: https://www.vidol.gov/labor-statistics/ and https://www.vidolviews.org/ (subpages like /laus, /qcew, /ces); machine-readable downloads via Data Download Center (e.g., complete files); no API; monthly (unemployment/LAUS) or quarterly; none/free.[[1]](https://www.vidol.gov/labor-statistics/)[[1]](https://www.vidol.gov/labor-statistics/)

- **U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – USVI-specific series (e.g., Economy at a Glance, LAUS, CES, QCEW for Virgin Islands)**: https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.vi.htm; public Data API (JSON, free with optional registration for higher limits); monthly; none/free (rate limits apply without key).[[2]](https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.vi.htm)

- **CEPALSTAT (ECLAC/UN) – LAC regional statistical databank with country breakdowns (includes USVI/Virgin Islands (U.S.))**: https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/cepalstat/index.html?lang=en; API available (api-cepalstat.cepal.org); varies by indicator (annual or more frequent); none/free.[[3]](https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/cepalstat/index.html?lang=en)[[4]](https://rogermariolopez.com/en/post/25-09-cepal-inflacion/)

- **KIDS COUNT Data Center (Annie E. Casey Foundation, with St. Croix Foundation for USVI)**: https://datacenter.aecf.org/ (USVI-specific child/youth/economic indicators, including unemployment/poverty); data exports/downloads (CSV etc.); no dedicated API; annual or periodic updates; none/free.[[5]](https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/6917-unemployment-rate)[[6]](https://www.stxfoundation.org/news/usvi-and-national-kids-count-data-align-on-how-geography-shapes-child-well-being/)

- **WTJX Newsfeed (local NPR affiliate for USVI)**: https://wtjxnewsfeed.podbean.com/ (RSS feed: https://feed.podbean.com/wtjxnewsfeed/feed.xml); no API; frequent (news-driven); none/free.[[7]](https://wtjxnewsfeed.podbean.com/)

- **Global Voices – US Virgin Islands section**: https://globalvoices.org/-/world/caribbean/us-virgin-islands/; RSS feeds available; no dedicated data API; ongoing/news-driven; none/free.[[8]](https://globalvoices.org/feeds/)

- **Federal Reserve Bank of New York – US Virgin Islands regional economic profile**: https://www.newyorkfed.org/regional-economy/profiles/us-virginislands; limited indicators (e.g., employment, income); no API mentioned; periodic; none/free.[[9]](https://www.newyorkfed.org/regional-economy/profiles/us-virginislands)

No dedicated central bank or finance ministry public API/data portal specific to USVI youth/economic indicators was identified (as a U.S. territory, relevant data routes through federal sources like BLS or FRBNY). No additional NGO/think tank public APIs specifically for crisis/poverty monitoring in USVI were found beyond the above. World Bank and similar are already excluded per query.