2019 report unveiled yesterday shows higher rate of poverty in rural areas

The latest Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC) is showing a continued decline in the average size of households and consumption patterns.

In addition, the report for 2019, which was formally unveiled during a digital ceremony on Wednesday (March 23), shows higher rates of poverty in rural areas as well as the increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

The JSLC documents a significant proportion of households indicating that their main source of income was insufficient or irregular.

The 2019 JSLC report marks the 30th edition of the exercise, which is jointly undertaken by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). It plays a critical role in measuring the living standards of Jamaican households, with the data derived serving to inform and guide key policy and programme implementation.

STATIN designs the survey and collects the data, while the PIOJ analyses the findings and undertakes an extensive process of review in preparing the report.

Highlights of the 2019 survey

The 2019 JSLC encompasses seven modules – demographic statistics, household consumption and poverty, health, education, early-childhood development, housing and social protection. Data collection commenced in May 2019 and spanned nine months, with the sample covering 6,551 individuals from more than 2,300 households.

The information collated provides comparisons mainly between 2019 and 2018 and, in some cases, with 2017. Suzette Johnson, the PIOJ’s director for policy research in the Social Policy, Planning and Research Division, indicated that a longer period of analysis was not possible at this time as STATIN, in an effort to improve data collection quality, modified the sample design and weighting methodology.

“This does not allow for direct comparisons with previous years. But once we have done the revisions, we will be sharing the data with you,” she explained.

Johnson, in providing a summary of the data, highlighted variations in the findings.

She highlighted that the findings regarding early-childhood development show that adults in the home continue to engage children in stimulating activities and were diversifying the way they administer discipline.

JSLC evolution

In her remarks, STATIN Director General Carol Coy pointed out that the survey has evolved over the years, with significant efforts being made to ensure it continues to fulfill its purpose of providing the Government with information for socio-economic policy development, evaluation, and planning.

Consequently, she said, the JSLC has remained relevant and continues to provide reliable and valuable data on a comprehensive range of social indicators.

The STATIN director general posited that monitoring social indicators now takes on “even greater importance”.

To this end, she cited the need to continuously assess Jamaica’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the various outcomes in the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan.

“These activities highlight the importance of the JSLC as a social sector monitoring tool,” she added.

Coy informed that as part of STATIN’s drive to continuously improve its data-collection process and ensure all products are of the highest standard, in 2019, the agency upgraded to Survey Solutions, a data-collection and survey management software developed by the World Bank.

She said a significant benefit of using this tool is the ability to identify and correct survey processes during the field operation, thus improving the quality of the data produced.

“We, therefore, encourage all our stakeholders to utilise the data provided, in the interest of our nation’s development,” Coy said.

In his remarks, PIOJ Director General Dr Wayne Henry noted that “in a more general way, data from the JSLC 2019 will help determine how our current policies and programmes should evolve, in order to chart a path for Jamaica’s economic and social recovery. The data will also be used to ensure that existing interventions are tailored, accordingly, and new ones are introduced, wherever necessary, to bolster progress and innovation.”