Study results announced on cost of living statistics

PRESS RELEASE
RED STATE DATA CENTER OF PUERTO RICO

Data collection begins for Puerto Rico's 2017 Economic Census

Statistics Institute urges companies to complete the Economic Census questionnaire on or before June 12

San Juan, PR, June 6, 2018 — The 2017 Economic Census of Puerto Rico, the main source of data on the structure and functioning of the country's economy, has already begun in Puerto Rico with the sending of questionnaires by post to companies, which will have until June 12 to fill it out.

This was reported by the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), representative and coordinator of the activities of the U.S. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, while urging business owners to complete the questionnaire online (https://portal.census.gov), as soon as possible, to ensure timely compliance, required by federal law.

Specifically, this time, the questionnaire sent by post includes instructions and a unique code that participants can use to complete it online. That way, respondents can complete it securely. Companies also have the option of filling out the printed questionnaire that was included in the mailing. If you have any questions or need assistance completing the questionnaire, companies can call 1-888-872-8390, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The mailing of Puerto Rico's 2017 Economic Census questionnaires began in early May. Title 13 of the United States Code requires each company to complete the questionnaire. The answers are confidential. By law, the U.S. Census Bureau you have a duty to keep information private and secure. Federal law protects the responses of all companies and ensures that data can only be used for statistical purposes.

“Puerto Rico's 2017 Economic Census is already taking place. Companies should have already started receiving the questionnaire by post. For the first time, a mechanism will be offered to complete the Economic Census by electronic means. The collaboration of all companies with this Census is extremely important, because it is expected that this will be the first Economic Census to be used for the purpose of preparing the gross product statistics of Puerto Rico's economy,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

The results of Puerto Rico's 2017 Economic Census will be available in December 2020 and will include aggregated information at the industrial and municipal levels on the number of establishments, revenues, sales, payroll, number of employees, goods and services produced, and other topics specific to each industry. For the previous results of the Economic Census, visit the following link: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census/about/island-areas.html.

El U.S. Census Bureau measures the population of Puerto Rico once every 10 years. In addition, every 5 years, it conducts the Puerto Rico Economic Census. This Census is used by trade associations, economic development agencies, governments and individual companies for business decision-making and public policy formulation. In addition, as recommended by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to the Government of Puerto Rico, this should be used as a reference when estimating statistics on the gross product of the economy, which is expected to be achieved for the first time with the 2017 Economic Census.

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, about 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.

In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in 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 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: 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

‍

Demographic Registry complies with the order of publishing mortality data

The action paves the way for greater transparency than

It saves lives after future hurricanes in Puerto Rico

San Juan, PR, August 30, 2018 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) announced today that the Demographic Registry has begun to comply with the Resolution No. 2018-03 of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the purpose of disseminating a set of data (Dataset) which contains preliminary information on deaths, which will be updated weekly on the open data platform managed by the Institute.

The Institute's Board of Directors had ordered this disclosure as a “measure of transparency” in the face of concerns raised last year regarding deaths that occurred after the passage of hurricanes Irma and María.

The released dataset contains information for each recorded death, which occurred from January 1, 2017 to the most recent week. It includes information on causes of death, month of death, place of residence, place of birth, type of death, sex, marital status, age, education level, occupation, industry, veteran status, and more.

This can be downloaded from the Institute's new open data platform, available here: https://datos.estadisticas.pr/dataset/defunciones-registradas-hasta-la-semana-pasada. The platform also allows you to preview the data and also allows you to develop applications that connect to the data set automatically through the use of Application Programming Interface (API).

Although the Resolution of the Board of Directors mandates that this data set be updated daily, the Department of Health and the Institute of Statistics agreed to update it weekly, as long as there is no emergency declaration. If an emergency is declared in the future, the Demographic Registry will be updating the data daily, to facilitate the analysis of these data that can save lives. In fact, this protocol should be included in the Department of Health's next Emergency Plan.

“Right now, more than ever, it has become evident the importance of the accessibility of statistical data to determine trends during specific times or phenomena, resulting in more assertive responses to an emergency. The certainty and transparency of this type of information could make the difference between life and death. Both the Department of Health and Governor Ricardo Rosselló's administration have always promoted free access to information, especially at a time when we seek to perfect every aspect of our contingency plans for times of emergency. This initiative, which unites the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and the Demographic Registry, points in that direction. We are pleased that it is materializing and that steps are being taken in the data collection process, for the benefit of Puerto Rican citizens,” said the Secretary of Health, Dr. Rafael Rodríguez Mercado.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, stressed: “The Department of Health's mortality statistics take a long time to prepare and publish. The newly published data help to perceive mortality in the short term, without the extensive purification protocol required by official statistics. In this way, we demonstrate our Government's commitment to transparency, and we are also preparing to respond more quickly to the mortality that may occur after the next hurricane. The data will be available even if there is no regular electric power service in Puerto Rico. This disclosure literally saves lives. It's the least we can do to recognize and honor the memory of the thousands of people who died as a result of Hurricane Maria.”

The announcement opens the way for the filing of a lawsuit that the Institute had filed in May of this year to force the Department of Health to provide this data on a recurring basis in order to comply with Resolution No. 2018-03 of the Institute's Board of Directors. In accordance with its Organic Law, the Institute has the power to demand or require from any governmental body the information or data it deems necessary for statistical purposes.

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, about 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.

In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in 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 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: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).

##

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

‍