Statistics Institute releases new version of the Occupied Positions Report

Announcements
IEPR
24 December 2025

PRESS RELEASE

Statistics Institute releases new version of the Occupied Positions Report

A new programming improves the visualization of the statistics of positions held in the government

A new programming carried out by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics will allow a better visualization of the Occupied Positions (PO) Report in the Government and the ability to compare current information with previous months, among other advantages. For the redesign of this report, free of charge and open source software was used R, so now it is done completely through this program, eliminating manual processes that were previously carried out.

“This new program is an advanced one because it optimizes the efficiency and effectiveness of statistical processes on this topic, improves our ability to monitor government positions with updated information, and allows comparisons to be made with previous years.”, said Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

The new design, as indicated by Ana Gabriela Jara Castro, manager of statistical projects at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, includes a monthly report tabulated by agency and type of position, in addition to the time series, with the following information:

  1. Number of POs at the end of the reference month, broken down by type of position (career, trust, temporary, irregular, among others) and by type of agency.
  2. Monthly change in the number of POs by type of position and by type of entity.
  3. Total PO for each government entity.

Jara Castro explained that, within this new format, a table (Table 4) was included that represents entities that have not reported their positions to the Office of the Comptroller for more than six months.

“The inclusion of this new table will allow the accountability process, for positions in government entities, to be a more transparent one, and more accessible to the population. The main objective of this report is to summarize the information of all the agencies represented in the Office of the Comptroller on its website,” said Ana G. Jara Castro, who was primarily responsible for the redesign of the report.

According to the website of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, the statistics presented in the Report on Statistics of Occupied Government Positions, come from the Register of Occupied Positions and Related Information, created under Act No. 103-2006, known as the Puerto Rico Government Tax Reform Act of 2006. This law states that every governmental entity has a duty to certify this information to the Comptroller's Office on a monthly basis. In those cases where the entity has not fulfilled its duty to certify its figures in a timely manner, the Statistics Institute performs a simple statistical attribution of the missing data to complete the statistics. All figures are under constant review and may change in future reports. The January 2021 edition is the most recent edition of this report and reflects that the number of total POs in government has fallen from 275,448 in January 2008 to 150,502 in January 2021. In the same way, “De Carrera” POs have fallen from 218,540 in January 2008 to 109,975 in January 2021. The report can be accessed through the following link: Statistics of Occupied Positions in the Government.

The 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 accessible quickly and universally.

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

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Contact:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28

787-603-3200

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Significant advances in the structure of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

PRESS RELEASE

Significant advances in the structure of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

A Strategic Plan that will allow the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute to be a more effective and effective one, the signing of a collaboration agreement with UNA-USA Puerto Rico to generate the first 13 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals for Puerto Rico, the updating of the section on studies related to Hurricane Maria, as well as offering support and guidance to those interested in applying for job opportunities in the 2020 Census, are some of the advances made by the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico during this year 2019.

Aware of the responsibility to coordinate the government's statistical production service to ensure that data is reliable and quickly and universally accessible, during this year the institute also completed and presented important publications such as: the Yearbook of the Puerto Rico Education System: 2015-2016, the World Values Survey for Puerto Rico 2018, the Migrant Profile 2017, the Food Security Report for Puerto Rico 2015, and the Student Health and Safety Profile in Puerto Rico: Years 2015-2017. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute added to the achievements of 2019 to complete the data for the year 2017 of the Puerto Rico Violent Death Surveillance System, which received an excellent score in all quality criteria and ranked number one among the 42 participating jurisdictions.

“It has been a year of great progress for the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, because not only are we fulfilling our role of coordinating the production of complete and reliable statistics, but we have also established important alliances with various sectors that allow us to continue advancing our mission, while presenting opportunities to strengthen the research methodologies we carry out. For next year 2020, we will provide continuity with updates to the Puerto Rico Education System Yearbook, the Migrant Profile, and the Student Health and Safety Profile in Puerto Rico, among other products”, said the acting executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier.

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The 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 accessible quickly and universally. The most significant achievements of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics during this year are available at: Most Significant Achievements of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute 2019.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28

787-603-3200

imartinez@upfrontpr.net

Lourdes Burgos, R-27

787-562-2932

The process to develop Puerto Rico's First Human Development Report begins.

The process to develop Puerto Rico's First Human Development Report begins.

The price of eggs in the urban area of San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas is 40% higher than the average in urban areas of the United States

40% higher the price of eggs in the urban area of San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas

Similarly, grocery items are 11.4% more expensive in this area than the average among 295 participating urban areas in the United States

San Juan, Puerto Rico — November 22, 2024. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute released the results of the Cost of Living Index (COLI) for the third quarter of 2024, corresponding to the months of July, August and September. The data reveals that the urban area of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas is ranked number 18 in the supermarket category. In percentage terms, the supermarket items in the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA are 11.4% more expensive than the average among 295 participating urban areas in the United States.

Within the category of supermarket items, the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA is positioned as the most expensive urban area in the United States for the cost of eggs, ranking first in the ranking. This means that this product is 40% higher than the average in urban areas of the United States. On the other hand, in the health care category, the visit to the general practitioner is in position number 295, while dental cleaning is in position 293, positioning the urban area as one of the most affordable among the participants in the country for these services.

In terms of the overall Cost of Living, the urban area of Metropolitan Statistical Area San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas is ranked 80th out of 295 in the United States, with a composite index of 102.3. This indicates that the cost of living in this area is 2.3% higher than the average of participating urban areas in the United States.

Below are the indexes and rankings by category for the urban area of the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA:

 

Category

Index

Ranking

Utilities

155.3

5/295

Grocery items

111.4

18/295

Housing

102.1

83/295

Transportation

91.1

238/295

Miscellaneous goods and services

92.4

246/295

Health care

70.5

295/295

COLI Index

102.3

80/295

The composite index is derived from six main categories of consumer spending, with high costs in public services and supermarket items highlighted. These are partially offset by relatively low costs in health care and miscellaneous goods and services.

The 15 municipalities that make up the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA and that meet the characteristics for price collection according to the established methodology are: Bayamón, Caguas, Canóvanas, Carolina, Cataño, Cidra, Dorado, Gurabo, Guaynabo, Rio Grande, San Juan, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto and Vega Alta.

“The COLI results for the third quarter of 2024 show that in the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA, public services, grocery items and housing are, on average, much more expensive than in most participating MSAs in the rest of the United States. The COLI, carried out by the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute, is an essential tool for evidence-based decision-making related to the development and economic growth of Puerto Rico,” explained Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Executive Director of the Institute.

COLI is a crucial tool for understanding regional differences in the costs of consumer goods and services. The indices are calculated based on data collected quarterly in each participating urban area. Since 1968, the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) has developed this widely recognized methodology.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute also offers a comparative cost-of-living calculator between the urban area of the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas MSA and the rest of the participating cities in the United States. This tool is available at: https://apps.estadisticas.pr/coli/.

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.