Graduates from creative disciplines increase by 26% in Puerto Rico

Announcements
IEPR
18 December 2025

San Juan, Puerto Rico. May 6, 2025. The number of graduates in creative disciplines in Puerto Rico increased by 26.4% between 2021 and 2022, according to the Puerto Rico Creative Industries Report 2021-2022 published by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. The report notes that 1,930 people graduated in 2022 from programs related to art, design, technology and media, with baccalaureate being the most common degree (56.2%), and graphic design the discipline with the most graduates (20.6%). This compared to 1,527 who graduated in 2021.

This educational growth, together with a 5% increase in the number of creative establishments that reached 2,227 in 2022, outlines a dynamic landscape for this key sector in Puerto Rico's economic diversification and innovation. However, the report also documents an 11.3% drop in employment in these industries, with 14,550 people employed in 2022 compared to 16,415 in the previous year. Other findings from the report include:

Creative Establishments

  • 68.5% of the establishments are small businesses with between 1 and 4 employees.
  • Distribution by sector: Art (36.3%), Media (30.6%) and Creative Services (26.4%).

Opportunities

  • The increase in graduates and new businesses reflects a growing academic offering and greater interest in creative careers.
  • Sectors such as technology and advertising offer competitive salaries to attract and retain talent.

Identified Challenges

  • 86% of establishments are micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees.
  • Gender gaps persist, especially in high-paying sectors, where female representation is low.
  • There is a geographical concentration of companies in municipalities with greater purchasing power, with peripheral areas lagging behind.
  • Trade deficit: the value of imports triples that of exports, although there are signs of improvement.

Despite the challenges, the report highlights significant opportunities, such as a robust academic offering and competitive salaries in technological and advertising areas.

“Creative industries integrate culture, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, making them a strategic economic sector for Puerto Rico,” said Francisco Pesante, Manager of Statistical Projects and author of the report. “This report puts into perspective the need to strengthen public policies, invest in specialized training and support small businesses in the creative sector, to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and promote Puerto Rico's competitiveness,” said Dr. Pesante.

The full report is available at: Creative Industries 2021-2022

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

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Puerto Rico Statistics Institute participates in the hearing of the Natural Resources Committee of the United States House of Representatives

Puerto Rico Statistics Institute participates in the hearing of the Natural Resources Committee of the United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC — June 21, 2024. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) participated in the hearing of the Subcommittee on Indigenous and Insular Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives. During the hearing, entitled Examining the findings of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to address data breaches and improve data collection in the territories, the importance of having high-quality statistics for effective democratic governance and the appropriate allocation of government resources was emphasized.

The representative of the Institute at these hearings, Mr. Jacobo Orenstein Cardona, said that the Institute supports the recent GAO report, which recommends “that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ensure that your Chief Statistician develops a coordinated approach at the government level so that federal statistical agencies, in consultation with U.S. territories and other stakeholders, examine the costs, benefits and feasibility of including territories in statistical products and, as appropriate, identify ways to address any data gaps.”

During his presentation, Orenstein-Cardona, who is also the Institute's executive assistant, emphasized that “high-quality statistics are fundamental to a functional democracy because they provide a factual basis for making informed decisions. In a democratic society, the ability of citizens to make educated decisions about their governance and policies is paramount.”

Among other issues, Orenstein-Cardona emphasized that “high-quality statistics help in the allocation of government resources, since they indicate where more investment is needed, whether in education, health, infrastructure or other areas. They also promote a culture of responsibility, where public officials are responsible for their decisions and the results obtained.”

Orenstein-Cardona concluded his presentation by mentioning that, “through collaboration with federal and local governments, the Institute can serve as an intermediary and contribute significantly to the inclusion of Puerto Rico in federal statistical products. This will allow for comparability with other jurisdictions in the United States and will improve the reliability of statistics for the benefit of the entire population of Puerto Rico.”

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: www.estadisticas.pr or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

Net emigration remains at its highest point in the last 11 years

Net emigration remains at its highest point in the last 11 years

Institute of Statistics publishes Creative Industries of Puerto Rico 2016

INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS PUBLISHES CREATIVE INDUSTRIES OF PUERTO RICO 2016

This is the second statistical report made on the subject and it shows that the largest number of related establishments (59%) has between 1 and 4 employees

San Juan, PR, May 17, 2018 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) released today Creative Industries in Puerto Rico 2016, which is the second publication that presents statistics on creative industries, with the purpose of supporting their development, in accordance with Law No. 173 of October 13, 2014, also known as the Law to Promote Creative Industries.

The purpose of this second report is to capture some indicators that in the long term serve as metrics of the execution of Creative Industries in the production of goods and services for the local market and their export. There is currently no consensus on the type of industries that should be classified as “creative”. However, Article 3 of Law 173-2014 defines creative industries based on the following list of industries:

  • Design (graphic, industrial, fashion and interiors)
  • Arts (music, visual and performing arts and publications)
  • Media (application development, video games, online media, digital content and multimedia)
  • Creative Services (architecture and creative education)

The published compendium presents all the statistics already available on these industries. But, in addition, statistics are presented on several additional industries that have been classified as “creative” in previous UNESCO studies, among others, and these, together with those defined by Law 173-2014, are referred to in the report as “Law 173+”:

  • other Arts (cinematography, jewelry, sewing)
  • other media (radio, television, cable, books)
  • other Creative Services (advertising, drawing)
  • Heritage (libraries, museums and historic sites)

Below are some of the publication's key findings:

1) The largest concentration of Creative Industries in the Ley 173+ group took place in establishments with 1 to 4 employees, who brought together 58.5% of them. An experience that was most strongly repeated in the sectors of Law 173, which comprised 71.7% of the establishments (County Business Patterns, CBP). In the case of 173+ sectors, those dedicated to Jewelry, followed by Computer system design and Advertising agencies (in that order) were the ones with the highest number of establishments in the sources consulted. In the specific case of Law 173, it was the establishments dedicated to System design Computer scientists and Computer Programming Services (CBP and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, QCEW).

2) The line of number of employees by industry, for the sectors of Law 173+, followed the same pattern as the previous line, with establishments dedicated to Jewelry, Computer system design and Agencies of publicity (in that order) those who employed the largest number of employees. The second of these, Computer system design, was the one who occupied the first position under Law 173, followed by Computer Programming Services (QCEW).

3) In the analysis of number of employees by occupation The first position in the entirety of Law 173+ corresponds to Wired telecommunications service operators with 3,148 employees, followed by those dedicated to Computer system design, with 2,030 employees. For Law 173, specifically, people employed in Computer system design (2,030) and Services of computer programming (1,842) ranked first and second (QCEW).

4) In the distribution of employees by sex, the industry of the Ley 173+ group with the highest percentage of employed women was Libraries and archives (87%) and in the lower position was the Sound industry with 12%. The most even distribution by sex occurred in Advertising Industries with 50%. In the case of jobs grouped under Law 173, the jobs of Editing and dissemination of content over the internet and search services was the one with the highest percentage of female participation (62%). The jobs of Software publishing was the one with the most even distribution (42%), being those of the Sound industry, mentioned above, those with the lowest female participation (Public Use Microdata Sample of the Puerto Rico Community Survey, PRCS-PUMS).

5) For both Law 173+ and Law 173 sectors, the Average revenue by industry The highest was $118,665 for the line of Software publishing (QCEW).

6) For both Law 173+ and Law 173 sectors, the Average annual wage by occupation The highest corresponded to System software developers with $67,530 (Occupational Employment Statistics, OES).

7) In the presentation of creative establishments per inhabitant for the Ley 173+ group The median number of establishments grouped under the creative industries by municipalities It was 2 establishments per 10,000 inhabitants. San Juan had approximately 25 establishments per 10,000 inhabitants (QCEW).

8) As for the value of imports and exports of assets of the Creative Industries in the Law 173+ sectors, in 2016 there was a trade balance of -$200 million (Institute).

To view the full report you can visit: Creative-Industries-of-Puerto Rico-2016.

In this second edition of the Creative Industries in Puerto Rico report, the secondary data sources and methodologies developed in the first report continued to be used. Industrias_Creativas_en_Puerto_Rico_2014.pdf. Since most of the available sources provide data up to 2016, it was decided to title this report with that reference date.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The IEPR has in its inventory, accessible through https://estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through https://data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: https://www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (https://www.facebook.com/estadisticas.pr), Twitter (https://twitter.com/estadisticaspr) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/instituto-de-estadisticas-de-puerto-rico).

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