Census shows 7.4% uptick in Puerto Rico’s work-from-home group
The percentage of people who worked from home in Puerto Rico increased to 7.4% during calendar year 2021, compared to the 2.4% reported in 2019, according to the US Census Bureau’s most recent Community Survey.
As a local liaison entity with the US Census Bureau, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics shared several findings from the new 2021 survey data, confirming that an estimated 78,333 people worked from home in 2021, representing an increase of five percentage points from the 2.4% reported in 2019, when an estimated 24,892 people did not set foot in an office.
As for migration indicators, some 27,000 people left Puerto Rico to other US jurisdictions in 2021, representing a drop when compared to the 35,000 people who left in 2019.
Some 27,380 people immigrated from the United States, reflecting a 12% decrease when compared to 2019, where an immigration of 31,144 people was estimated.
Some 54,669 people emigrated to other jurisdictions in the United States, showing a decrease from 2019, which was 66,021 people, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics stated.
“The published data for the year 2021 begin to show features of the social and economic changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, the agency’s manager of Statistical Projects.
“The increase in the modality of working from home to 7% is one of them. Possibly that percentage will not return to the previous levels in Puerto Rico, which was around 2%,” he said.
“Another aspect of significant change that could be related to the pandemic was the increase in households with broadband internet, which went from 68% (2019) to 77% in 2021,” Velázquez-Estrada said.
