Virgin Islands (U.S.)

**No significant new developments in the last 60 days (approximately April 8–June 7, 2026) that would materially shift the youth instability baseline for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI/VIR).** The baseline youth unemployment figure (15-24 male, national: 20.6% in 2025) aligns closely with available modeled data, and no major political/security/economic shocks, new unemployment releases, or infrastructure disruptions were identified.[[1]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSVIR)[[2]](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS?locations=US)

### 1. Youth/Male Unemployment Data Releases (ILO/World Bank/Government)
- The most recent modeled ILO estimate (via World Bank/FRED) shows **total youth unemployment (15-24) at 24.2% for 2025** (up slightly from 23.0% in 2024). This is an annual modeled figure; no quarterly or male-specific updates were released in the last 60 days.[[1]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSVIR)[[2]](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS?locations=US)
- USVI Department of Labor (VIDOL) resources track general labor statistics (e.g., LAUS unemployment via vidolviews.org) but contain no new youth- or male-specific releases or revisions in this period. A January 2025 announcement covered 2025 UI tax rates for employers only.[[3]](https://www.vidol.gov/labor-statistics/)
- No new ILO or World Bank territory-specific releases for USVI appeared in searches. Broader 2025–2026 ILO reports discuss regional Latin America & Caribbean youth unemployment trends (stable/high but not USVI-specific).[[4]](https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-01/WESO25_Trends_Report_EN.pdf)

The baseline male figure (20.6%) is plausible given typical gender gaps in youth data and does not appear contradicted by the total rate.

### 2. Political, Security, or Economic Events Affecting Young Men (18-35)
- No reports of protests, coup attempts, militia recruitment, major economic shocks, or currency issues in USVI during the period. Searches returned unrelated or older items (e.g., power system challenges noted in March 2026).[[5]](https://www.facebook.com/USVIWAPA/posts/st-thomas-stjohn-us-virgin-islands-march-31-2026-the-virgin-islands-water-and-po/1251839140471592/)
- USVI remains a stable U.S. territory with no indicators of heightened instability for this demographic.

### 3. NGO/Academic Reports on Youth Situation (Published 2025+)
- No new 2025 or 2026 NGO/academic reports specifically on USVI youth instability, unemployment, or related risks were published or highlighted in the last 60 days.
- Existing/referenced materials include the St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT USVI reports (latest referenced data from 2023–2025 periods, focusing on child well-being, education, and first-generation college students) and a May 2026 summit mention, but these predate or fall outside the recent window and do not indicate shifts.[[6]](https://www.stxfoundation.org/news/u-s-virgin-islands-bright-spots-in-child-well-being-include-a-high-rate-of-first-generation-college-students-while-hot-spots-align-with-national-data-indicating-the-need/)[[7]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOJg2fJRYqY)
- Older juvenile justice testimony (Oct 2025) noted decreasing youth arrest/incarceration trends nationally but ongoing challenges in USVI—again, not recent.[[8]](https://legvi.org/committee-receives-testimony-concerning-youth-challenges/)

### 4. Internet/Mobile Infrastructure Changes
- No shutdowns, major new rollouts, or coverage changes reported in the last 60 days.
- A March 2026 power outage (pre-period) briefly disrupted internet via VI Powernet (near-zero traffic on affected islands for ~2.5 hours), with partial recovery due to alternative providers.[[9]](https://blog.cloudflare.com/q1-2026-internet-disruption-summary/)
- General coverage maps for major carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) show standard service with no flagged alterations.[[10]](https://villamargarita.com/st-croix-cell-phone-service-usvi/)

**Overall assessment**: The instability picture remains consistent with the provided baseline. No flags for escalation. USVI data is often modeled/annual, so monitor VIDOL (vidol.gov) and World Bank/ILO portals for future updates. Sources primarily include World Bank data.worldbank.org, FRED (fred.stlouisfed.org), VIDOL, and Cloudflare Radar summaries.

**US Virgin Islands (U.S.)-specific and relevant non-inference data sources** (focusing on labor/unemployment, economic/youth indicators; USVI is a US territory, so many sources are federal or territorial extensions of US systems rather than fully independent national ones):

- **US Virgin Islands Department of Labor (VIDOL) Labor Statistics / vidolviews.org**: https://www.vidol.gov/labor-statistics/ and https://www.vidolviews.org/ (LAUS unemployment, QCEW, CES, OEWS). No dedicated public API (data via web views and likely CSV/Excel downloads). Updates: Monthly/quarterly for key labor series. Auth: None (public access).[[1]](https://www.vidol.gov/labor-statistics/)

- **US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Public Data API**: https://www.bls.gov/developers/ (covers VI-specific series via LAUS, CES, QCEW, etc.). API: Yes (v2). Updates: Monthly (unemployment/labor force) or quarterly/annual. Auth: Free (API key recommended/required for higher limits; public data otherwise accessible).[[2]](https://github.com/cran/blsAPI)

- **US Virgin Islands Bureau of Economic Research (USVIBER)**: https://usviber.org/ (monthly tourism/economic reports, indicators). API: No. Updates: Monthly reports + archived data. Auth: None (PDFs/downloads).[[3]](https://usviber.org/)

- **FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)**: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ (VI-specific series e.g., insured unemployment rate VIRINSUREDUR, GDP). API: Yes. Updates: Varies (often monthly or as released). Auth: Free API key.[[4]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/VIRINSUREDUR)

- **CEPALSTAT (ECLAC Statistical Data Portal)**: https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/cepalstat/index.html (LAC regional database with country breakdowns; some coverage/proxy indicators for USVI/territories in SDGs, labor, youth, poverty). API: Partial (Open Data/API access noted; R package available). Updates: Regular/ongoing. Auth: None.[[5]](https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/cepalstat/index.html?lang=en)

- **Global Voices RSS feeds (Caribbean/US Virgin Islands section)**: https://globalvoices.org/feeds/ or https://globalvoices.org/-/world/caribbean/us-virgin-islands/ (reliable regional coverage including USVI). RSS: Yes. Updates: As published (irregular but consistent for region). Auth: None.[[6]](https://globalvoices.org/feeds/)

- **KIDS COUNT Data Center (Annie E. Casey Foundation)**: Data center or state/territory pages (USVI child/youth poverty, well-being, family indicators from Census and local sources). API: No (downloads/tables). Updates: Periodic (annual or as new Census/local data). Auth: None.[[7]](https://www.stxfoundation.org/news/usvi-and-national-kids-count-data-align-on-how-geography-shapes-child-well-being/)

- **US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)**: https://www.bea.gov/ (USVI GDP and related territorial economic accounts). API: Partial/limited (primarily downloads; some series via FRED). Updates: Annual (with lags). Auth: None.[[8]](https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/gross-domestic-product-us-virgin-islands-2020)

**Notes**: No dedicated central bank exists for USVI (data flows through US federal systems like BLS/BEA or territorial bureaus). Regional LAC sources (e.g., CEPALSTAT, IDB) often have limited or proxy coverage for US territories like USVI. Local news RSS options exist but are fragmented; Global Voices provides one reliable aggregated feed. All listed sources are publicly accessible and focus on primary/official data (no inference models). Verify current API endpoints and coverage for VI series directly, as territorial data granularity can vary.