San Juan, PR — The U.S. Census Bureau today released the most recent data from the Puerto Rico Community Survey known as the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) at the municipal level. These statistics refer to information collected from 2012 to 2016, a period of 5 years or a five-year period. The new publication provides data on social, economic and housing characteristics for Puerto Rico and for all municipalities, as well as for some specific geographical levels such as neighborhoods, census tracts and block groups. As the leading entity of the U.S. Census Bureau's State Data Center Network in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) presents this brief summary of some of the results:

1. During the 5-year period (2012-16), the median household income in Puerto Rico was $19,606, which decreased by about 4 percent compared to the previous five-year period (2007-11) when the median income was $20,403.
2. Comparing the two five-year periods (2012-16 vs. 2007-11) at the municipal level:
   • In 51 municipalities, there was a decrease in the median household income, and in 17 of these municipalities the change was statistically significant, with a confidence level of 90%.
   • The 5 municipalities that showed the highest decrease according to the percentage change in household income were: Guayama, Las Marías, Adjuntas, Lajas and Santa Isabel.
   • On the other hand, the 5 municipalities that showed the highest increase in household income were: Salinas, Naranjito, Culebra, Juana Díaz and Morovis.

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At the Puerto Rico level, data indicate a reduction of about $800 in household income during the most recent five-year period 2012-16 compared to the previous 2007-2011. Looking at income by category, the proportion of households with incomes under $10,000 increased from 28% to 29% between the two periods, pointing to more households with minimum incomes in Puerto Rico. As for municipalities, 65% of these reflected a decrease in the median household income without showing any particular geographical pattern. On the other hand, seven municipalities showed an increase of 12% or more in household income, located in the center, south and east of Puerto Rico,” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, manager of statistical projects at the Institute.

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More statistics on the Community Survey estimates can be obtained at: http://factfinder2.census.gov/. If you need assistance using this tool to get
data, you may find the self-study guide useful for using this available tool: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/fact-finder . Information on the methodology used to produce the estimates can be accessed here.

In addition, as the leading entity of Puerto Rico's SDC, the IEPR 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/.

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, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: https://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.

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

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January 21, 2018

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PUERTO RICO INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS QUESTIONS PURPOSE OF CONSOLIDATING TO “OUTSOURCE”

The executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, today questioned the purpose of consolidating this public entity, with the sole purpose of outsourcing it later, as proposed in Reorganization Plan No. 1 referring to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) for the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute.

To expedite the proposal to “outsource” the Institute's functions, the Government could simply propose a bill to amend the Institute's Organic Law. Another alternative could be to consider including your outsourcing proposal in an existing legislative vehicle, such as Senate Bill 236 (Open Data Act). But, in this case, it was proposed to merge for the sole purpose of 'externalizing' its functions. It is a proposal that seems strange to us. I don't want to think of it as a mechanism designed to prevent the Legislative Assembly from discharging its function of analyzing and finally approving the reorganizations of entities created by law, such as the Institute.

On January 8, 2018, at a press conference from La Fortaleza, the Secretary of Public Affairs and Public Policy, Lcdo. Ramón Rosario Cortés, presented a proposal to reorganize the DDEC and consolidate several public entities, including the Institute. In the case of the Institute, it is proposed to consolidate it with the DDEC, with the sole purpose of outsourcing its functions, in order to guarantee its “real independence” since, as recognized by Rosario Cortés himself that day, the Institute since its creation, “although it has had independence, it depends on appointments from the Governor, including Executive officials who are part of that Board”.

For his part, Dr. Marazzi-Santiago thanked the recognition that statistical functions must be performed without political interference. “We are ready to study alternative mechanisms that allow the selection of members of the Institute's Board of Directors without the need for the incumbent Government to interfere. Recent experiences with this issue provide compelling evidence to support the desirability of this change in public policy,” said the Executive Director of the Institute.

The Institute was created as a public instrument with so much administrative and fiscal autonomy that it already allows it to operate outside the Government, almost like a private company. As La Fortaleza is already aware, the Institute does not consult its contracts or appointments with La Fortaleza or with the Office of Management and Budget, but rather makes these decisions as in private companies, based on professional and technical criteria that ensure adequate governance of our institution.

Marazzi assured that this governance model has not only proven to be successful, but that the Institute's objectivity and professionalism have been recognized by numerous users of its services and interested individuals, most recently by the Congressional Task Force created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stabilization Act (PROMESA) of 2016, which specifically recommended that the Institute continue to protect its independence.

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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 www.estadisticas.pr.gov, more than 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a guardian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.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.

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

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PRESS RELEASE

PUERTO RICO STATE DATA CENTER NETWORK (SDC-PR)

Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

Strong increase in households with people aged 65 and over in Puerto Rico

It is estimated that in 50 municipalities, four out of ten households have this trait.

San Juan, PR, December 8, 2022 — The U.S. Census Bureau released today the most recent data from the Puerto Rico Community Survey. These statistics refer to information collected over a period of five years, from 2017 to 2021. The new publication provides data on demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics for Puerto Rico and municipalities, as well as for specific geographical levels such as neighborhoods and census tracts. As part of the U.S. State Data Center Network. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) presents several interesting results:

1. During the period 2017-2021, four out of ten households in fifty municipalities had one or more people aged 65 or older. This trait was reflected in only twelve municipalities in the period 2012-2016.
2. In a comparison of the previous five-year period 2012-2016, compared to the most recent period 2017-2021, estimates indicate that:
   • Among the total number of households in Puerto Rico, the percentage of households with one or more people aged 65 years or older increased from 35.1% to 40.6%, this change being statistically significant.
   • At the municipal level, the 78 municipalities showed an increase in this trait of households with one or more people aged 65 and over.
     • It should be noted that in 69 of the 78 municipalities, the increases were statistically significant.
     • The municipalities of Las Marías, Naranjito, Comerío, Aguada and Corozal showed the highest increase in this characteristic, this change being close to or greater than 10 percentage points.
   • On the other hand, the median income in Puerto Rico was reflected between periods;
     • A decrease in household income of 0.8% or from $22,136 to $21,967, not a statistically significant difference.
     • An increase in household income of 1.2% or from $26,439 to $26,745, a difference not statistically significant.

“The population aged 65 and over is increasingly present in the homes of our jurisdiction; this is partly a reflection of the peak of births that occurred in Puerto Rico in the 1940s and 1960s. Those generations active in our society require and will require support and services for their needs in the present and near future, whether from the immediate family circle, as well as from government programs aimed at this population, said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Senior Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

Tables with interesting characteristics can be accessed in the data dissemination tool of the U.S. Census Bureau data.census.gov. In addition, as the leading entity of the State Data Center of Puerto Rico, 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 municipal profiles, estimated annual population; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (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: censo.estadisticas.pr.

Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with 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.gov or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

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