PRESS RELEASE

PUERTO RICO STATE DATA CENTER NETWORK (SDC-PR)

New York was not among the main destinations for emigrants

This is indicated in the most recent Migrant Profile 2018-2019

San Juan, PR, June 1, 2021 — During the calendar year 2019, data from the Community Survey for the first time (in 15 years) indicate that the state of New York was not among the top five destinations for emigrants who left Puerto Rico, a characteristic that used to be a constant of emigration from Puerto Rico. This was revealed in the 2018-2019 Migrant Profile, which was published today by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, and which presents an overview of the migratory movement in Puerto Rico in the calendar year 2018 and 2019. In fact, New York did not rank among the top 10 destination states either, dropping to the eleventh position. Here are several key findings:

1. In 2018, Puerto Rico's migration indicators showed that:
   • 133,000 people immigrated to United States states, increasing the previous year's mark based on the Community Survey
   • 113,000 people migrated to United States states in net terms, a new mark compared to information from the Community Survey
   • 40,000 people immigrated to U.S. states with some post-secondary education in net terms, according to the Community Survey
   • 89,000 air passengers from all destinations to Puerto Rico in net terms according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
2. The five states with the highest emigration from Puerto Rico in 2018 were Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Texas.
3. In 2018, 36% of emigrants and 53% of immigrants lived in poverty, according to data from the Community Survey.

4. In 2019, Puerto Rico's migration indicators reflected that:
   • 66,000 people immigrated to United States states, reducing the record of Community Survey data from the previous year (2018)
   • 35,000 people immigrated to United States states in net terms, the lowest figure since 2010 compared to information from the Community Survey
   • 13,000 people immigrated to U.S. states with some post-secondary education in net terms according to the Community Survey
   • 10,000 air passengers from Puerto Rico to all destinations in net terms according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
5. The five states with the highest emigration from Puerto Rico in 2019 were Florida, Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
6. By 2019, 30% of emigrants and 42% of immigrants were living in poverty, according to data from the Community Survey.
7. During the year 2018 to 2019, the median income of immigrants from Puerto Rico (residing in the United States) increased from $15,239 to $16,976, which was about 11% higher in 2019.
8. The migratory trend was strengthened, in the decade (2010-2019), in net terms:
   • 607,000 people migrated to the states, according to the Community Survey
   • 655,000 air passengers departed from Puerto Rico to all destinations according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
9. Among the specific occupations:
   • In 2018, it was estimated that 3,156 (+/- 1,638) emigrants were employed as retailers, 2,842 (+/- 1,305) were employed as teachers and tutors, and 2,769 (+/- 1,177) were employed as cashiers.
   • In 2019, it was estimated that some 1,727 (+/-1,030) emigrants were employed as cashiers and 900 (+/- 497) employed as teachers and tutors.

“The new publication shows the increase in the emigration movement in 2018, where estimates suggest that about 3% of the population moved from residence to outside of Puerto Rico. In terms of migratory destinations, New York did not rank, for the first time, among the top ten destination states in 2019. The change requires follow-up with new data, as they are published, to examine whether this trait will be the beginning of a change in the geographical trend of emigration from Puerto Rico, where other states in the southern and eastern regions of the United States will now continue to be those with the highest movement of migrants.” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

See more details and information about the 2018-2019 Migrant Profile, as well as previous publications, in the Publications section of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics through the following link: Publications.

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. In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the Institute manages the Puerto Rico State Data Center (SDC) page, which contains products containing data and census information from U.S. Census Bureau about Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand. The Puerto Rico SDC website can be accessed at: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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For questions:

https://preguntas.estadisticas.pr/

e-mail: alberto.velazquez@estadisticas.pr

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They present economic and social indicators for Puerto Rico

In activity between the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and the United States Census Bureau

San Juan, Puerto Rico. October 24, 2024. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute, in collaboration with the United States Census Bureau, presented the conference “Economic and Social Indicators on Puerto Rico: Exploring the Economic and Social Reality of Puerto Rico”, in which they examined the main economic and social indicators that impact Puerto Rico. Experts from the United States Census Bureau and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics presented key issues, such as the cost of living, labor force, community resilience and migratory flow, among others. The activity took place on October 4. “Knowing some of the indicators that reflect the economic and social reality of Puerto Rico is essential for the development of effective public policies. This collaboration with the Census Bureau helps us to have more accurate and reliable data that will help us better understand the challenges and opportunities facing Puerto Rico,” said the executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier.

For his part, Michael López-Pelliccia, (Chief of Staff, Economic Department) of the United States Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, said that, “The opening of the first Federal Center for Statistical Data Research in Puerto Rico (FSRDC) and events such as this conference are part of an ongoing effort to strengthen technical capacity in Puerto Rico. Through seminars, workshops, and webinars, we seek to provide local people with a more practical and accessible approach to using Census data. This type of technical assistance is key to ensuring that Puerto Rico can make the most of the wealth of information we offer.”

The conference included presentations by experts such as Ana G. Jara Castro, Clara E. Santiago Bello, Javier Gómez and Marijulie Martínez from the United States Census Bureau, who addressed issues such as building permit indicators and the “Census Business Builder” tool, among others. On behalf of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Ronald G. Hernández Maldonado presented the Cost of Living Index, while Alberto L. Velázquez Estrada spoke about the migratory flow and the structure of the labor group in Puerto Rico.

Among the various indicators presented at the conference, the following stood out:

• El Quarterly Workforce Indicators which includes 32 labor force indicators that cover employment, job changes and income. This is a single work-level data source that provides demographic information on the labor market.
• The Community Resilience Estimates (CRE), which are modeled estimates of vulnerability factors in the population such as functional diversity, poverty level, access to vehicles and internet, employment, education, and others, combining data from the Community Survey.
• The tool Census Business Builder, which is a customer-focused application. It provides access to data to develop business plans, request financial assistance, study economic development, plan strategies and create emergency plans.
• The Internet page Puerto Rico Profile which links between its tools automated profiles for municipalities with data on employment, poverty, income, education and health, among others.
• The Cost of Living Index (COLI). This reflected in the most recent results for Puerto Rico, that the cost of grocery items in San Juan, Bayamón and Caguas is 12.2% more expensive than the average of the participating urban areas in the United States.
• Regarding the Migratory Flow and Structure of the Working Age Group in Puerto Rico, it was highlighted that emigration has been a constant in the history of Puerto Rico, but this has taken a deep toll on the working population in recent years. About 70% of working-age emigration occurred at ages 16 to 44.

The presentations and materials used during the conference are available through the following link: https://estadisticas.pr/en/Conferencia-Indicadores-Económicos-y-Sociales.

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.

Authorized by the Office of the Electoral Comptroller OCE-SA-2024-12788

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PRESS RELEASE
DR. MARIO MARAZZI‐SANTIAGO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

April 25, 2018

INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS ORDERS PUBLICATION OF MORTALITY DATA

The decision of the Board of Directors paves the way for greater transparency to save lives after future hurricanes in Puerto Rico and supports ongoing efforts to review the number of deaths as a result of Hurricane Maria.

The Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico (Institute) announced today the approval of a series of methodological standards that must be used to measure the number of fatalities from future natural disasters in Puerto Rico, as well as to produce final estimates of the number of deaths as a result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, a process that still remains incomplete today.

The methodological standards approved by the Institute's Board of Directors include: (1) the need to conduct a case-level epidemiological study to comprehensively measure the number of fatalities from any natural disaster, (2) the sources of information that should be used for this type of epidemiological study, (3) the criteria that will be used to attribute a specific death to a natural disaster, and (4) the set of mortality data that must be published online and updated daily.

The rules were approved in the Resolution No. 2018-03 of the Institute's Board approved this week. The Resolution also orders PRIS staff to take all necessary actions permitted under the Institute Enabling Act to ensure that these methodological standards are adopted and implemented by the Government of Puerto Rico.

For example, under the Resolution No. 2018-03, PRIS expert staff and financial resources are available to ensure that an exhaustive case-level epidemiological study is carried out to complete the review of the number of fatalities from Hurricane Maria. In addition, the Resolution requires that any epidemiological study of cases of disaster-related mortality in Puerto Rico be able to take advantage of information from the following sources: death certificates, medical records, forensic pathology files and the testimony of family members.

In addition, the Resolution adopts the criteria and classification structure developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for the attribution of a specific death to a natural disaster. These criteria are described in the Reference guide for the certification of deaths in the event of a natural, human-induced or chemical/radioactive disaster.

Finally, the Resolution describes the specific data fields that must be published and updated daily for each death on the Puerto Rico Open Data Portal:
https://data.pr.gov/. To do this, the Institute will use its authority, which includes powers such as subpoena, to request the necessary set of data from the Puerto Rico Health Department on a daily basis. The Institute will also be available to train staff from the Puerto Rico Department of Health, so that they can upload the necessary data sets themselves.

“As the next hurricane season approaches, we must work to ensure that Puerto Rico's data infrastructure is better prepared to inform our citizens and the world about conditions in Puerto Rico. In the case of mortality, allowing people on the other side of the world to see our latest death records allows scientists around the world to analyze our data, even when there is no electricity or Internet in Puerto Rico, to identify patterns that can save lives in a timely manner. We owe it to the hundreds, if not the thousands, of people who died as a result of Hurricane Maria, so that we never allow this to happen again,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

Currently, the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety attributes only 64 deaths to Hurricane Maria. In December, after several independent researchers discovered that the number of fatalities from Hurricane Maria could be more than a thousand, the Government of Puerto Rico ordered a review of Maria's death toll and stopped providing the public with monthly mortality totals.

The Resolution of the Institute's Board explicitly recognizes that in the 3 months following the passage of hurricanes Irma and María over Puerto Rico, there were higher-than-average deaths in Puerto Rico, amounting to more than a thousand, and that this increase in deaths is probably related to the passage of hurricanes Irma and María over Puerto Rico. The resolution also aims to support the work of a group of independent researchers from George Washington University who were hired by the Government of Puerto Rico to analyze various issues related to mortality after Hurricane Maria.

The Institute's Board had been carefully analyzing and considering the approval of this Resolution, after it was able to restart its work last month. Previously, he had not been able to meet, even before hurricanes Irma and María made landfall in Puerto Rico, due to a legal dispute that arose last summer, after the Governor tried to dismiss several members of the Institute's Board of Directors without due process. The dispute was finally resolved in the first instance last month, following a court ruling that the Governor lacked authority to dismiss Board members without due process.

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 Institute 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 Puerto Rico's SDC, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains 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 and official statistics on Puerto Rico's decennial 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 (statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes/ (787) 688-0401

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