 By early 2017, the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis posed serious problems for the government which was saddled with outstanding bond debt that had climbed to $70 billion or $12,000 per capita at a time with a 45 percent poverty rate and 12.4% unemployment that is more than twice the mainland U.S. average.The debt had been increasing during a decade long recession.The Commonwealth had been defaulting on many debts, including bonds, since 2015.