Questions and Answers
Should I participate? What am I expected to do?
All staff members in the P1 to P5, D1, L1 to L6, FS 6 and FS7 categories are
expected to complete the questionnaire and submit it promptly, in accordance
with the instructions provided.
What is the out-of-area component?
The out-of-area component is a unique feature of cost-of-living measurement that
is designed to reflect the international and dynamic character of the population
of staff members of the United Nations common system. In particular, it reflects
the fact that some portion of the remuneration of international staff is spent
outside the area of the duty station, on such items as goods imported directly
because of limitations of the local market (certain food and clothing items),
the expense of private travel outside the country of the duty station (home
leave, vacations), fees for education and support of dependants abroad, and
upkeep of a residence in the home country.
The out-of-area index measures price movements and exchange fluctuations in a
chosen set of countries with the objective of providing an estimate of inflation
in United States dollars for expenditures made outside the country of
assignment. The countries are chosen to represent a world price level indexed to
the United States dollar. In post adjustment calculations, it is assumed that
this “world price level” is the same for all staff.
Why an Out-of-area Survey?
The out-of-area survey seeks to identify countries where UN common system staff
members incur expenditures outside of the country of their duty station. In view
of the importance of the out-of-area index in the calculation of post
adjustments, the ICSC decided at its sixty-third session that a survey of staff
should be conducted every five years to maintain the relevance of the list of
countries included. (See the
ICSC 2008 Annual report A/63/30, paragraph 136(f)
for more details)
The out-of-area index was first incorporated as a component of the post
adjustment index in 1987. At that time it was based on a basket of consumer
price indices and exchange rates of 21 countries, established by the ICSC. The
list of countries was selected on the basis of convertible or hardcurrency
economies. It included countries in the European Currency Units (ECU), as well
as Austria, Hong Kong, Japan, Scandinavian countries, Singapore, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom and the United States. Following the out-of-area survey
conducted in 2007 the list of countries was updated to include 26 countries in
total, including 15 hosting group 1 duty stations and 11 hosting group 2 duty
stations.
How will the survey affect me?
In order to keep up with the evolution of out-of-area expenditure patterns of UN
staff, driven by changes in lifestyles and the existence of duty stations
classified as “non-family”, administrative places of assignment or rest and
recuperation destinations, among other factors, the provision of accurate data
about where such expenditures are incurred is vital. The results of this survey
will be used to update the list of countries included in the out-of-area index,
to be incorporated in the Post Adjustment Index (PAI) for all duty stations as
part of the 2015 cost-of-living survey round.
The accuracy of the results depends directly on your participation. A more
precise measurement of this component, based on a large volume of completed
questionnaires from eligible staff members, will lead to a more accurate PAI.
Why a survey of purchases of organic and biological produce?
In order to keep pace with the changing purchasing habits of UN staff members
from time to time it is necessary to update the ICSC basket of goods and
services, used to compare prices in New York with those other duty stations.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that organic/biological products account for an
increasing proportion of staff members’ expenditures. The survey aims to
determine the relative importance of such organic/biological brands relative to
the regular brands of the same items in the overall expenditure pattern of UN
staff members.