Beneath the constant drumbeat of headline numbers emanating from Washington on U.S. jobs, national unemployment, GDP, and home prices lies a complex, diverse set of 366 metropolitan economies. While no metro area has been immune from the current economic downturn, the pain is unevenly distributed. Some have felt only modest effects, and a few show early signs of recovery, while others are undergoing a wrenching restructuring that may fundamentally alter their economic trajectory.
The MetroMonitor, an interactive barometer of the health of America’s metropolitan economies, looks “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan landscape of recession and recovery across the country. It aims to enhance understanding of the underpinnings of national economic trends, and to promote public- and private-sector responses to the downturn that take into account metro areas’ unique starting points, weaknesses, and strengths—the potential “grassroots green shoots”—for eventual recovery.
The first global assessment of road safety finds that almost half of the estimated 1.27 million people who die in road traffic crashes every year are pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. While progress has been made towards protecting people in cars, the needs of these vulnerable groups of road users are not being met.
The Global status report on road safety provides the first worldwide analysis of how well countries are implementing a number of effective road safety measures. These include limiting speed, reducing drink-driving, and increasing the use of seatbelts, child restraints and motorcycle helmets. Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the report presents information from 178 countries, accounting for over 98% of the world’s population. It uses a standardized method that allows comparisons between countries to be made.
This is a very interesting video from the US Census Bureau . It describe why the 2010 census is probably the most important one in US history. It explains how the census is used by all levels of government to allocate funds for services. This would be appropriate for use in many classes and groups.
The world’s 65-and-older population is projected to triple by midcentury, from 516 million in 2009 to 1.53 billion in 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast, the population under 15 is expected to increase by only 6 percent during the same period, from 1.83 billion to 1.93 billion.
In the United States, the population 65 and older will more than double by 2050, rising from 39 million today to 89 million. While children are projected to still outnumber the older population worldwide in 2050, the under 15 population in the United States is expected to fall below the older population by that date, increasing from 62 million today to 85 million.
"The Impacts of Foreclosures on Families and Communities," a new new Urban Institute report, details what is known about how foreclosures adversely affect households and their neighborhoods — from children and the elderly to public safety and local property tax revenues. It also looks at policies, programs, and response strategies to prevent or mitigate the fallout.
The report, a comprehensive resource for local officials, advocates, and concerned laypeople, was motivated by the recognition that this decade may be the most tumultuous in the history of U.S. housing markets. Home prices skyrocketed from 2000 to 2006, while subprime loans and other factors propelled an expansion in homeownership. Then it all fell apart. Prices have plummeted, foreclosure rates have ballooned, and many communities have been walloped.
MARKETER TREES 2009 Explore the database of the 100 Leading National Advertisers Featuring U.S. ad spending, division sales, personnel, brands and agencies.
RANKINGS, ANALYSIS, CHARTS AND MORE 100 Leading National Advertisers A ranking of the top 100 U.S. advertisers in 2008
Spending Fell (only) 2.7% in '08. Real Problem: 2009 Walmart Stores Spending up 16%; Retail Surpasses Auto as Top Ad Category, by Bradley Johnson
Video: Bradley Johnson discusses 100 LNA
U.S. Ad Spend Trends: 2008 • % change in ad spend, 2001-2008: 100 LNA • % change in ad spend, 2001-2011 (forecast): ZenithOptimedia • How 2008 U.S. ad spending was split by medium • How 2008 U.S. ad spending was split by category
Verizon Tops AT&T as Most-Advertised Brand Walmart vaults into No. 5 Spot with 66% increase in measured media spending, by Maureen Morrison
Top 200 Megabrands By U.S. measured media spending in 2008
Total U.S. Advertising Spending by Medium • Measured media spending from TNS Media Intelligence • Media plus marketing services from ZenithOptimedia
Total U.S. Measured Advertising Spending by Category Media spending totals from TNS by category for 2008
Top 10 Advertisers in 10 Media Top spenders in magazine, newspaper, outdoor, radio, broadcast TV, cable and internet based in measured media
U.S. Advertising as Percent of Sales For the 100 LNA by category
U.S. Market Share Leaders Marketers in key ad categories for 2008: Automotive, retail, restaurants, wireless, beverages, beer, prescription drugs, personal care and credit cards
Many types of businesses are required to file application and statement forms with the Secretary of State Office(s) where they conduct business. Use e-SecretaryOfState.com to find contact information for Secretary of State Office(s) that apply to your business, or search for registered companies and their filing status.
e-SecretaryOfState.com provides information for Secretary of State Offices in each state. Mailing address, phone number, fax number, and email address are provided.
Additionally, there are links for each office's main Web site, forms, tax forms, statutes, and entity search. Identify the forms and statutes relevant to you organization, or use the entity search to find registered businesses.
I was away at my niece's high school graduation in Charlotte, NC in the middle of June, so I didn't come upon Bill Dowd's What? Why me? Intrusive queries from the Census Bureau, published in the Albany Times Union on Sunday, June 14, until this past weekend.
Mr. Dowd writes what I guess is a cheeky dealing with the American Community Survey. But I'll reply to his points seriously anyway.
"In a few days your household will receive a questionnaire in the mail for a very important national survey, the American Community Survey. When the questionnaire arrives, please fill it out and mail it back promptly. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this survey and chose your address, not you personally, as part of a randomly selected sample."
Interesting that this very process nullifies any statistical viability of such a survey.
The address is randomly sampled; I do not understand how this "nullifies any statistical viability". It's not totally random in that, if your address is picked, safeguards are in place so that the address won't be selected again soon.
Not only have I now received another Census Bureau letter concerning "The American Community Survey," I also received a questionnaire I am informed I must fill out and return, under penalty of law.
From Census News Briefs #67: "A person who 'refuses' or 'willfully neglects' to answer any census questions is subject to a fine of not more than $100. A person who 'willfully' provides false information can be fined up to $500." But it isn't the intent of Census to get people fined; it is to get the information it's required to collect.
They again demand my cooperation, even though they swear they don't know who I am since I was "randomly selected" -- by them.
Same source: "The Census Bureau requests names of people residing in the household, to ensure full coverage and minimize the likelihood of duplication, and a telephone number, in case it must follow-up to obtain missing or unclear information..."
I suppose I'm being unnecessarily stubborn in asking what these survey questions have to do with those topics:
How many times have I been married?
How many times has my spouse been married?
How are the two people in the household related to each other?
What are the household residents' ethnic origins?
When did the residents move into the current residence...
What is my monthly condominium fee, if applicable?
Has anyone in the household ever served in the military?
What kind of work do the residents of the household do?
Relationships and residence characteristics have implications in everything from health care to road design. Other questions involve voting rights, government benefits and other issues.
Unless the Census Bureau has, while I was sleeping, been assigned the task of planning the nation's highways, running the health care system, handling public safety programs, and building new schools, that makes no sense. The information it demands obviously will be shared with someone outside the Census Bureau. Many someones, no doubt.
No, Census does not plan the nation's highways; it provides the data in the aggregate which allows transportation planners to plan highways, educators to build or raze schools, and the like. Bill Dowd's individual information isn't being shared. Roger Green's individual information isn't being shared. The data provided show how many children in a particular block group, not characteristics of a particular child. In fact, the Census Bureau is very quick - overly quick, some believe -to SUPPRESS the data when it seems possible likely that an individual person or household might be revealed.
I'm hoping that Mr. Dowd actually look at the data already created through the American Community Survey so he can see that no individual person's information is revealed, only totals for various geographies. If he -or anyone else - needs help deciphering this, they can leave a comment and I'll do my best to explain. *** On another Census topic, I was please to see this: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed during a press briefing [last week] that the Obama Administration was "determining the best way to ensure that gay and lesbian couples are accurately counted" in the 2010 census. The Wall Street Journal reported... that the Administration had directed the Census Bureau to explore ways to tabulate responses to the census relationship question, to produce data showing responses from married couples of the same sex.
The Census Bureau decided during the Bush Administration that it would re-code same sex spouse responses as "unmarried partners," citing provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that it believed prohibited the tabulation of data on marriages that are not between opposite sex couples, as well as concerns about data quality based on responses collected in the American Community Survey. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) sent a letter earlier this week to President Obama, urging the Administration to recognize same-sex marriages in the 2010 census. Rep. Quigley and more than 50 other members of the LGBT Congressional Equality Caucus wrote to the President last month, suggesting that the Bush Administration had misinterpreted the DOMA and saying that reporting statistical data on same-sex couples "simply provides basic information about how Americans respond to the Census Bureau's questions" and "is not tantamount to federal recognition of same-sex marriage."
I never believed that DOMA forbade reporting what is happening in the states, and this is the type of data openness I suspect that Census would have preferred.
Please check out these links to 2010 Census job openings and Regional Office positions in the New York City region (downstate plus). Open each link to see the geographic area of consideration (where applicants must reside).
Marriage and divorce stats in NYS are tracked by the state health department. You'll find them at Tables 46 through 52. 2008 data are not yet available.
Table 46 - Marriages by Age of Bride and Age of Groom, New York State Exclusive of New York City Table 47 - Marriages by County of Occurrence and Month of Ceremony, New York State Table 48 - Dissolutions of Marriage by County of Decree and Type of Decree, New York State Table 49 - Dissolutions of Marriage by Duration and Type of Decree by Region, New York State Table 50 - Divorces by County of Decree and Legal Grounds, New York State Table 51 - Divorces by County of Decree and Duration of Marriage, New York State Table 52 - Divorces by County of Decree and Number of Children Under 18, New York State
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Robert L. Megna has announced tax guidelines for people who suffer financial losses through fraudulent investment arrangements commonly known as Ponzi schemes.
This is a series of national-level data files on the real estate and rental and leasing sector (NAICS 53). These include data for industries such as miniwarehouses and self-storage units, real estate agents and brokers, car rental and leasing, rental centers and others. The files provide data on the number of establishments, revenue, payroll, number of employees, value of product line revenue and other data items by industry.
The World Trade Organization has recently posted on its website an interactive map that depicts disputes between its member states. The top of the webpage shows a list of highlight-able choices among types of member-state involvement in disputes: as complainant, respondent, or either. The accompanying map shows member-state areas of the world in a color range of whitish pink to red, to indicate the range in the number of disputes (0-100), and non-member-state areas in gray; the United States is bright red.
From the June 2009 State Data Center Steering Committee Highlights
2010 Census • About 13 million English/Spanish questionnaires will be sent to all addresses in tracts where 20 percent or more of the households had 1 or more persons age 15 and older speaking Spanish and not speaking English very well based on the 2000 Census and current knowledge • Language assistance guides will be available in 59 languages
• Funders Census Initiative (FCI) is a project of the Funder’s Committee for Civic Participation • A number of foundations are getting more interested in the Census, as users of the data and realizing the importance of an accurate count, and are working to encourage complete counts. • These foundations may be willing to support local census promotion activities.
ACS Data Changes • 95 detailed tables are being deleted from the 2008 ACS 1-year products due to breaks in series resulting from changes in the questionnaire. • Most of these are being replaced with new tables. There will be 99 new detailed tables • 37 detailed tables will be modified from previous years • New topics for 2008 are marital history, health insurance, and service-connected disability • Major changes have been made to the disability questions in 2008 result in a break in this series and no comparability with earlier years • Disability related detailed tables are being renumbered. A note will indicate that these tables are not comparable with the similar looking table from previous years – a reference to the specific old table number will be included • There will be no 3-year disability tables until the 2008-2010 tables are released in 2011. • There will be no 5-year disability tables until the 2008-2012 tables are released in 2013 • The employment questions have been revised to be closer to the CPS questions. The impact of this change is being evaluated – the data may or may not be comparable with previous years. If it is determined that there is a break in this series, it will be handled the same way as the disability data.
There's much more at Social Security's Popular Baby Names site such as the names of twins born in 2008, by rank: 1 Jacob, Joshua 69 2 Daniel, David 59 3 Jayden, Jordan 56 4 Ethan, Evan 50 5 Taylor, Tyler 43 6 Gabriella, Isabella 42
Interesting stuff. The problem I have with most of the the stories is that it doesn't tell you the change in the nature of naming children.
For instance, below are percentages of boys, girls born with these names: 1880 1 John 8.1541%, Mary 7.2381% 2 William 8.0511%, Anna 2.6678% 3 James 5.0057%, Emma 2.0521% 4 Charles 4.5167%, Elizabeth 1.9865% 5 George 4.3292%, Minnie 1.7888% 6 Frank 2.7380%, Margaret 1.6167% 7 Joseph 2.2229%, Ida 1.5081% 8 Thomas 2.1401%, Alice 1.4487% 9 Henry 2.0641%, Bertha 1.3523% 10 Robert 2.0404%, Sarah 1.3196%
1930
1 Robert 5.5021%, Mary 5.4969% 2 James 4.7781%, Betty 3.2794% 3 John 4.6417%, Dorothy 2.6064% 4 William 4.1855%, Helen 1.7076% 5 Richard 2.8491%, Margaret 1.5743% 6 Charles 2.8197%, Barbara 1.5683% 7 Donald 2.5723%, Patricia 1.3507% 8 George 2.0155%, Joan 1.3280% 9 Joseph 1.8579%, Doris 1.3250% 10 Edward 1.5346%, Ruth 1.2804%
1980 1 Michael 3.7039%, Jennifer 3.2811% 2 Christopher 2.6531%, Amanda 2.0132% 3 Jason 2.5994%, Jessica 1.9064% 4 David 2.2600%, Melissa 1.7776% 5 James 2.1205%, Sarah 1.4464% 6 Matthew 2.0417%, Heather 1.1223% 7 Joshua 1.9454%, Nicole 1.1189% 8 John 1.9018%, Amy 1.1148% 9 Robert 1.8475%, Elizabeth 1.0972% 10 Joseph 1.6285%, Michelle 1.0743%
2008 1 Jacob 1.0355%, Emma 0.9043% 2 Michael 0.9437%. Isabella 0.8941% 3 Ethan 0.9301%, Emily 0.8377% 4 Joshua 0.8799%, Madison 0.8199% 5 Daniel 0.8702%, Ava 0.8198% 6 Alexander 0.8566%, Olivia 0.8196% 7 Anthony 0.8442%, Sophia 0.7729% 8 William 0.8438%, Abigail 0.7250% 9 Christopher 0.8268%, Elizabeth 0.5748% 10 Matthew 0.8061%, Chloe 0.5692%
In 1880, two boy names were used by almost one-sixth of the population, while Mary was nearly thrice as popular as the next most popular girl's name. By 2008, the #1 names was considerably less dominant than the #10 names in 1980.
I decided to pick out some boys' and girls' names not entirely at random to note their trends.
Male
Roger 1880-349 1930-57 1980-134 2008-463 highest year-22 in 1945 (unsurprisingly)
Darrin not in top 1000 until 1959 1980-505 not in top 1000 since 2004 highest year-102 in 1965
Gordon 1880-233 1930-77 1980-345 2008-946 highest year-70 in 1935
Rex 1880-519 1930-233 1980-488 2008-799 not in top 1000 in 1999-2002 highest year-171 in 1951
Arthur 1880-14 1930-23 1980-147 2008-363 highest year-14 in 1880-1884, 1886-1899, 1901
Norman 1880-133 1930-40 1980-286 not in top 1000 since 2005 highest year-36 in 1931
Leslie 1880-167 1930-139 1980-354 not in top 1000 since 1997 highest year-81 in 1895
Female
Carol 1880-685 1930-54 1980-232 not in top 1000 in 1883 not in top 1000 since 2006 highest year-4 in 1941
Lydia 1880-77 1930-233 1980-287 2008-120 highest year-75 in 1883
Gertrude 1880-25 1930-96 not in top 1000 since 1965 highest year-22 in 1906
Marcia 1880-614 1930-231 1980-414 not in top 1000 in 1992 not in top 1000 since 1994 highest year-74 in 1951
Gladys 1880-370 1930-48 1980-628 not in top 1000 in 1998 not in top 1000 since 1999 highest year-11 in 1901
Karen 1880-not in top 1000 until 1881 1930-687 1980-54 2008-183 not in top 1000 in 1882-1884, 1888, 1891, 1895-1905, 1907-1911, 1913-1917, 1919-1923, 1925, 1925, 1927 highest year-3 in 1965
Leslie 1880-655 1930-601 1980-61 2008-147 highest year-56 in 1981
Note that the specific spelling matters. For instance, on the boys' side in 2008, Arthur is #363, but, separately, Arturo is #352. Similarly, on the girls' 2008 list, Leslie is #147 and Lesly, #447; Lesley fell off the chart in 2008.
ESA provides broad and targeted economic data, analyses and forecasts for use by Government agencies, businesses and others, as well as develops domestic and international economic policy.
Many important political and business decisions are based upon the economic and demographic information produced by ESA and its components: the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Census Bureau, and STAT-USA.
Want to find out how kids are faring in your county or school district? The newly redesigned KIDS COUNT Data Center features local data in addition to hundreds of indicators of child well-being for cities, states, and the nation as a whole. Create your own maps, graphs, or charts, and use them in presentations or post them on your own website or blog.
Rocky Ferraro, Executive Director, Capital District Regional Planning Commission, notes that the report Tech Valley Trends – A Basis for Civic Change is now posted on the CDRPC site.
The Corporate Tax Statistical Report is intended to provide a summary of corporate tax data to aid interested parties in their analysis of New York's corporate tax structure. Tables in this report present tax statistics for Article 9-A (the franchise tax on business corporations), Article 9 (the corporation and utilities tax), Article 32 (the franchise tax on banking corporations), and Article 33 (the franchise tax on insurance companies). The report focuses on the franchise taxes imposed under these articles to enable data users to more easily understand the corporate franchise tax population and liability. By definition, it includes the excise taxes imposed under Article 9, Sections 186-a and 186-e.
This edition of the Corporate Tax Statistical Report provides detailed information for liability year 2005.
To download the entire publication and statistical tables, please visit here.
Everyone wants to be a winner, but lottery scams can fool some people. In order not to be taken in by the illusion of monetary gain, the New York State Consumer Protection Board and the New York State Lottery have produced a Public Service announcement of tips in English and Spanish featuring Yolanda Vega here.
Someone asking about 13-year-old Jewish children got this as a partial answer:
The problem with getting demographics is that there is no agreement on them. The Census, for instance, is prohibited from asking religion questions. I have reports indicating they’re declining precipitously and others with a small increase.
ARIS indicates that the adult Jewish population has declined from 3,137,000 (1.8%) in 1990 to 2,680,000 (1.2%) in 2008. They note that definition is practicing Jews, not “ethnically” Jewish. In 2008, 49% of Jews were male, 51% female. 21% are 18-29, 28% are 30-49, 33% are 50-69 and 18% are over 70.
Conversely, Pew Research shows 1.7% of adult Americans are Jewish; Reform 0.7%, Conservative 0.5%, Orthodox- <0.3%; rest are "other" or not specified. The AJIS study from 2001 suggests that there were roughly 2.5 million Jewish children.
Having found bar mitzvah website, I was frankly happy to find this relevant quote here: "I doubt very much there are any statistics on the number of Bar/Bat Mitzvahs are in the US. Each synagogue has their own set-up and there is no central database I know of even for the main denominations… What you'd need is a census of Jews turning 13 in any given year - and that is not really available anywhere you could rely on. Some portion of THAT number would have a bar/bat mitzvah ceremony."
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) introduced legislation on May 21 to require the Census Bureau to change the way it collects data on disability in the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS, launched nationwide in 2005 to replace the traditional census long form, samples roughly 250,000 addresses a month to produce annually updated estimates of the nation's socio-economic characteristics. The "Disability Data Modernization Act" (S. 1127) would replace the current ACS question on disability with "standardized function questions used by medical providers," Sen. Martinez said in announcing introduction of the measure on May 21. The ranking Republican on the Special Committee on Aging said the current question wording "is not meeting its legislative purpose. [With the change], we can better plan for a coordinated, comprehensive, and compassionate system of long-term care which will allow each and everyone of us to live out our lives with dignity and independence." Under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy, all data collected in the census, of which the ACS is a part, must be required by federal law, be necessary to administer a federal program or law, or be required to implement the goals of a federal court decision.
S. 1127 specifically directs the Census Bureau to use the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Index and the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) to measure extent of disability. The senator described ADLs as "activities essential for self-care" and IADLs as "activities essential to function in the home and community," and said the measures are "two of the most widely accepted and used indices of function by hospitals, researchers, federal agencies and Long-Term Care facilities for 40 years." The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
So my question: understanding that ADLs and IADLs are "two of the most widely accepted and used indices of function by hospitals, researchers, federal agencies and Long-Term Care facilities for 40 years," are the terms easily understandable by members of the general public?
The State Data Center (SDC) Program is one of the Census Bureau's longest and most successful partnerships. It is a cooperative program between the states and the Census Bureau that was created in 1978 to make data available locally to the public through a network of state agencies, universities, libraries, and regional and local governments.
The New York State Data Center operates through a network of Affiliate Data Centers throughout the State. These agencies maintain Census and related economic and demographic data and provide local information services to local government, business and the public.
This blog is NOT an official organ of the State Data Center program, its affiliates, the state of New York, or the U.S. Census Bureau.
Rather, it represents the point of view of the authors of the individual posts, and he or she alone.
Reinventing High School for Regions
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Ontario County’s discussion of regionalizing high schools has made a few
headlines of late, and dovetails with potential policy moves at the state
level. P...
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