UOG conducting survey to help gauge changes in cost of living

UOG conducting survey to help gauge changes in cost of living

UOG conducting survey to help gauge changes in cost of living


5/11/2023

A woman in a neon vest holds a tablet up explaining something to a couple of UOG students
An enumerator from the University of Guam explains to a couple how they can take the Household Income and Expenditures Survey using a tablet. Photo courtesy of University of Guam

Starting this month, households across the island may be selected to participate in a survey to help determine the changes in the cost of living over time.

The Household Income & Expenditures Survey — being conducted by the University of Guam Cooperative Extension & Outreach service for the Guam Bureau of Statistics & Plans — is funded by the Office of Insular Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“This survey is highly important for informing decisions about public programs, wages, and subsidized services that affect all residents,” said Peter Barcinas, Interim Associate Director of UOG Cooperative Extension & Outreach. “We highly encourage households, if they are selected, to take part for the benefit of the community.”

The survey is critical for measuring inflation as well as rebasing the Consumer Price Index and developing the Gross Domestic Product for Guam. 

Policymakers and decision-makers in both the public and private sectors look to these economic indicators. 

Enumerators will be contacting 1,000 randomly pre-selected houses, either by phone or in person at their residences. They will be wearing UOG safety vests with official ID and vehicle badges. 

Participation is voluntary. 

The information collected is confidential and will not identify individual respondents.

Residents are encouraged to call 671-735-2056 or visit url.uog.edu/hies-check to see if their household has been randomly pre-selected and to arrange a survey time. 

If their address is not on the list of pre-selected households, residents may opt in as a potential alternate for the survey in the event a nearby selected household cannot be reached.

Participation involves filling out an approximately one-hour survey on a tablet — either at their residence or at their village mayor’s office — followed by recording household expenditures for two weeks. Residents who complete the survey will receive complimentary gas or grocery certificates. More information and a list of FAQs are available at url.uog.edu/hies.

This survey is funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs, Technical Assistance Program awarded to the Guam Bureau of Statistics & Plans under grant number D18AP00141. The Cooperative Extension & Outreach service at the University of Guam is a sub-recipient.