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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Press Release

Conference on the 2020 Census, process, importance and purpose of data

Free admission to Caguas on Thursday, February 27, 2020

Make Puerto Rico count! is an initiative of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics to publicize, through an entire day of conferences, the processes of the Decennial Census that is being carried out during this year 2020, the methodology, the importance and the purpose of the data. This will take place on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at the Criollo Center for Caribbean Science and Technology in Caguas from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free and includes lunch and poster presentation.

“The census is much more than just a count of people. It provides us with an image of our society that is useful and necessary in decision-making, in effective planning and in the distribution of funds, among other actions. In addition, it helps us to see how our communities have changed over time,” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

With the participation of census data experts and key field operations personnel from the U.S. Census Bureau, topics related to the census operation and the importance of official population enumeration will be presented, which is considered a unique opportunity in every decade. The topics to be presented are: Decennial censuses and aspects to consider in the current demography of Puerto Rico, by Dr. Judith Rodriguez, former professor of the Graduate Program in Demography of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico; Census Operation 2020, by Jeff Behler, director of the New York Regional Office (NYRO) of the U.S. Census Bureau; The Complete Enumeration Committees in Puerto Rico, by Giselle Laffitte, partnership specialist (NYRO) of the U.S. Census Bureau; and Visualization of census data, by the Mr. Gerson Vázquez from Data Viz CMLSO Specialist.

In the same way, the activity will present the panel: Use and relevance of census data for public policy and research, with the participation of Dr. María E. Enchautegui Román from the Youth Development Institute, Dr. Viviana De Jesús Monge from the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras campus and Medical Sciences campus, demographer Raúl Figueroa, and planner Yoel Velázquez from Albizu University.

“During the past decade, Puerto Rico experienced a variety of economic, social and natural situations, whose impact and consequences will undoubtedly be reflected in this 2020 Census. This is why it is important to educate ourselves on this topic, so that, when the time comes, an informed analysis of the results can be made. At the Institute, we are 100% committed to the work of the Census,” said the Acting Executive Director of the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico, Dr. Orville M. Disdier.

Those interested in participating must register at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haz-que-cuentes-puerto-rico-censo-2020-tickets-76454612805

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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