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February 20, 2009

Headline News

Census Bureau Data Show Characteristics of the U.S. Foreign-Born Population. (Released February 19, 2009)

Privately-Owned Housing Starts in January 2009 Were at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 466,000. This Is 16.8 Percent Below the Revised December 2008 Estimate of 560,000. (Released February 18, 2009)

U.S. Total Business Sales for December Were $1,016.6 Billion, Down 3.2 Percent From Last Month. Month-End Inventories Were $1,460.5 Billion, Down 1.3 Percent From Last Month. (Released February 12, 2009)

U.S. Retail and Food Service Sales for January Reached $344.6 Billion, a Increase of 1.0 Percent From the Previous Month. (Released February 12, 2009)

The Nation's International Deficit in Goods and Services Decreased to $677.1 Billion in 2008 From $700.3 Billion 2007. For December, the Goods and Services Deficit Decreased to $39.9 Billion From $41.6 Billion (Revised) in November. (Released February 11, 2009)

December 2008 Sales of Merchant Wholesalers Were $336.1 Billion, Down 3.6 Percent From Last Month. End-of-Month Inventories Were $427.5 Billion, Down 1.4 Percent From Last Month. (Released February 10, 2009)

Profile of Older Workers: 2004 - Nevada. (Released February 10, 2009)

Census Bureau to Update Employment, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Numbers. (Released February 9, 2009)

 

Fact of the Day

38 Million Foreign-Born Live in the United States

According to a new analysis of data about the U.S. foreign-born population from the 2007 American Community Survey (ACS), there were an estimated 38 million people living in the United States who were born outside of the country. Mexico tops the country of birth list with more than 11.7 million people. The next highest countries by birth include China (1.9 million), the Philippines (1.7 million), India (1.5 million), El Salvador and Vietnam (both at 1.1 million), and Korea (1 million). Cuba, Canada and the Dominican Republic round out the top 10 countries of birth. These data are available online as detailed profiles and PDF data charts.

 

Hot Tip

CPS-ASEC Interviews Currently Underway

On February 15, nearly 2,000 Census Bureau field representatives began interviewing about 100,000 households across the nation for the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS). Results from the CPS-ASEC collected in February through April of each year enable the following high-profile indicators to be updated annually by the Census Bureau: median household income, official poverty rate and percentage of people without health insurance coverage. The Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey, which dates from 1942, is the longest-running household survey in the country. More information about this survey can be found on our website.

 

Recently Released

Population

Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007. Internet tables detail education levels by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, nativity, occupation, and other demographic characteristics at the national level.

Foreign-Born Characteristics: 2007. Detailed tables and data charts (PDF - 87 KB) provide information on the Foreign-Born population. New data profiles show educational attainment, income, year of entry, occupations, and more based on a group's country of birth. For example, Chinese-born residents in one part of the country are much more likely to graduate high school than others.


Economic Indicators

Monthly Wholesale Trade: December 2008. Press release showing estimates for sales, inventories on a non-LIFO ("last in-first out") basis, and stock-sales ratios for merchant wholesalers by three-digit major kind-of-business groups.

US International Trade in Goods and Services: December 2008. Press release showing monthly exports, general imports (including data by country), and limited data on imports for consumption.

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: January 2009. Press release presenting advance monthly estimates of retail store sales by kind-of-business groups. Report includes seasonally adjusted estimates and percentage changes for major kind-of-business groups.

Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales: December 2008. Press release showing sales, inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratios for the combined domestic activities of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers.

Housing Starts and Building Permits: January 2009. Press release showing data for housing starts, completions, and building permits.


Economic Census and Surveys

2007 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey. These data provide statistics on business spending for new and used structures and equipment, including all domestic, private, nonfarm businesses. These figures are critical to evaluate productivity growth, the ability of U.S. business to compete with foreign business, changes in industrial capacity, and measures of overall economic performance.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Rental and Leasing Services. This industry series produces revenue and expense data on a wide variety of rental and leasing services, including data on passenger car rentals, formal wear, video tape and disc rentals, machinery and equipment rentals, and rentals of other consumer goods.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Revenues and expenses are tracked for law offices, accounting offices, tax preparation, management consulting, interior design, graphic design, and a host of other professional, scientific and technical services. Find out how much advertising and public relations firms made in revenues, as well as how much they spent.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. How much did travel firms make? Did they bring in more revenue from business or leisure travel? This sector also provides expenses and revenues for remediation services, waste management, investigative services, landscapers, locksmiths, and telemarketers.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Arts, Entertainment, and Recreations Services. Report provides estimates such as revenue and expenses for taxable and tax-exempt performing arts, spectator sports, museums, historical sites, amusement, gambling, and similar institutions. The data cover firms with paid employees.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Other Services (Except Public Administration, Religious, Labor, and Political Organizations, and Private Households). Report provides estimates such as revenue and expenses for taxable repair and maintenance firms, and taxable personal and laundry services. Also included in the report are tax-exempt religious, grant-making, civic, professional, and similar organizations. The data cover firms with paid employees.

Older Worker Profiles. Reports (will be released for each of over 30 states) providing a detailed picture of workers 55 and older at the county and metropolitan area levels for 2004. Based on data from the Local Employment Dynamics program, the reports highlight the age of the states' work force, job gains and losses, industries in which older workers are concentrated, job stability, and earnings. The following states are available as of the publish date of this newsletter:

Reference and Compendia

Super Bowl XLIII (February 1)

Facts for Features: Valentine's Day 2009 (February 14)

St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2009) and Irish-American Heritage Month (March)

 

Upcoming Releases

Population

A Child's Day: 2006. Examines the well-being of children, providing a look into living arrangements, family characteristics, time spent in child care, academic experience and extracurricular activities. These national-level estimates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation allow observation of trends over time of selected characteristics of the household, such as composition, income, labor force participation and government assistance.

America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2008. These tables provide national-level demographic characteristics for families and households, such as race, education and marital status. They also contain data on the composition of the American household, such as single-parent families, fathers as child care providers, grandparents as caregivers, stay-at-home parents, age at first marriage and number of children.

Population Change in Central and Outlying Counties of Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2000 to 2007. Analysis of population change and demographic components of change in both core and outlying portions of metro areas. This change is examined by region and division and metro area population size category, as well as for 12 of the most populous metro areas.

School Enrollment in the United States: 2007. Annual update at the national level on the demographics of Americans age 3 and older enrolled in classes - from nursery school through graduate studies - as well as those in vocational training.


Economic Indicators

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: January 2009. Press release showing advance information on key business indicators. Scheduled for release February 26, 2009.

New Residential Sales: January 2009. Press release reporting new one-family houses sold and for sale. Includes sales prices, months on the market, and stage of construction. Scheduled for release February 26, 2009.

Construction Spending (Put-in-Place): January 2009. Press release showing estimates of the value of total new construction put-in-place by type of construction (residential and non-residential), annual value, and by type of owner (private and public). Scheduled for release March 2, 2009.

Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: January 2009. Press release showing information on key business indicators. Shows revised durable goods totals, in addition to nondurable goods manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders. Scheduled for release March 5, 2009.


Reference and Compendia

Facts for Features:

African-American History Month (February). To commemorate and celebrate the contributions to our nation made by people of African descent, the Census Bureau presents a collection of demographic and economic statistics about the black community.

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May). We celebrate the contributions of Asian/Pacific Americans to our nation with a host of statistical information on this group. Included is a separate set of statistics for Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders covering demographics and businesses.

Cinco de Mayo. "The Fifth of May," a national holiday in Mexico, has become a time to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture. The Census Bureau joins in the festivities with a collection of demographic and economic data relating to U.S. residents of Mexican descent.

Older Americans Month (May). We celebrate the contributions of our nation's 65-and-older residents with a set of data on the demographic characteristics.

 

February 10, 2009

Headline News

New Orders for Manufactured Goods in December Decreased $14.8 Billion or 3.9 Percent to $362.4 Billion. (Released February 5, 2009)

Total Construction Activity for December 2008 ($1,053.7 Billion) Was 1.4 Percent Below the Revised November 2008 ($1,068.8 Billion). (Released February 2, 2009)

2007 Service Annual Survey: Rental and Leasing Services. (Released February 2, 2009)

2007 Service Annual Survey: Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. (Released February 2, 2009)

2007 Service Annual Survey: Other Services (Except Public Administration, Religious, Labor, and Political Organizations, and Private Households). (Released February 2, 2009)

2007 Service Annual Survey: Arts, Entertainment, and Recreations Services. (Released February 2, 2009)

2007 Service Annual Survey: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. (Released February 2, 2009)

Sales of New One-Family Houses in December 2008 Were at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 331,000. This Is 14.7 Percent Below the Revised November 2008 Estimate of 388,000. (Released January 29, 2009)

New Orders for Manufactured Durable Goods in December Decreased $4.7 Billion or 2.6 Percent to $176.8 Billion. (Released January 29, 2009)

Movie, Video Revenue Climb 7 Percent To $70 Billion In 2007. (Released January 29, 2009)

Profile of Older Workers: 2004 - Alabama. (Released January 29, 2009)

Foreign-Born Exceed the Native-Born in Advanced Degrees based on Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007. (Released January 28, 2009)

Profiles of Older Workers: 2004 - California. (Released January 26, 2009)

 

Fact of the Day

New Educational Attainment Data Available

A larger percentage of foreign-born than native-born residents had a master's degree or higher in 2007, according to the report Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007. Nationally, 11 percent of foreign-born - people from another country now living in the United States - and 10 percent of U.S.- born residents had an advanced degree. Find more in the full report available online.

 

Hot Tip

Great Web Site for Students

Take a look at the "State Facts for Students" web page! For each state, there's information on population, geography, business, history, and more! At the Census Bureau home page, click "For Teachers and Students," then "State Facts for Students." The site is constructed in an attractive color-coded manner.

Also note that in our Question and Answer Center, you can find Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) with convenient web links to data by simply typing in the name of any state. Each state's FAQ also includes a link to the "State Facts for Students" web page.

 

Recently Released

Population

American Community Survey 2005-2007 PUMS Data Release. 2005-2007 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files are an extract of the full data set, released in a manner that avoids disclosure of information about households or individuals. PUMS files allow advanced data users to create customized tabulations beyond the standard tables.

Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007. Internet tables detail education levels by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, nativity, occupation, and other demographic characteristics at the national level.

USA Counties. This information resource contains more than 6,000 data items for 3,141 counties, 50 states, and the nation. Many new items are included this year, including 2008 data on the number of offices and total deposits for commercial banks and savings institutions, as well as 2007 data on federal government expenditures, Department of Defense expenditures, and direct payments for individuals (retirement and disability).


Economic Indicators

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: December 2008. Press release showing advance information on key business indicators.

New Residential Sales: December 2008. Press release reporting new one-family houses sold and for sale. Includes sales prices, months on the market, and stage of construction.

Construction Spending (Put-in-Place): December 2008. Press release showing estimates of the value of total new construction put-in-place by type of construction (residential and non-residential), annual value, and by type of owner (private and public).

Housing Vacancies: Fourth Quarter 2008. Press release showing rental and homeowner vacancy rates and characteristics of units available for occupancy.

Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: December 2008. Press release showing information on key business indicators. Shows revised durable goods totals, in addition to nondurable goods manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders.


Economic Census and Surveys

2007 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey. These data provide statistics on business spending for new and used structures and equipment, including all domestic, private, nonfarm businesses. These figures are critical to evaluate productivity growth, the ability of U.S. business to compete with foreign business, changes in industrial capacity, and measures of overall economic performance.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Securities, Commodity Contracts and Other Financial Investments. Revenues for the financial industry are tracked yearly. Whether underwriting securities, managing portfolio assets or brokering commodities, these data track the change in revenue for firms that make up the securities section of the financial industry.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Information Sector Services. These data show revenues for establishments typically engaged in activities associated with transforming information into a commodity. From cultural products, such as motion pictures, to the distribution of information through different media, such as wireless signals for cell phones, this sector covers everything from production and processing to distribution of information.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Rental and Leasing Services. This industry series produces revenue and expense data on a wide variety of rental and leasing services, including data on passenger car rentals, formal wear, video tape and disc rentals, machinery and equipment rentals, and rentals of other consumer goods.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Revenues and expenses are tracked for law offices, accounting offices, tax preparation, management consulting, interior design, graphic design, and a host of other professional, scientific and technical services. Find out how much advertising and public relations firms made in revenues, as well as how much they spent.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. How much did travel firms make? Did they bring in more revenue from business or leisure travel? This sector also provides expenses and revenues for remediation services, waste management, investigative services, landscapers, locksmiths, and telemarketers.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Arts, Entertainment, and Recreations Services. Report provides estimates such as revenue and expenses for taxable and tax-exempt performing arts, spectator sports, museums, historical sites, amusement, gambling, and similar institutions. The data cover firms with paid employees.

2007 Service Annual Survey: Other Services (Except Public Administration, Religious, Labor, and Political Organizations, and Private Households). Report provides estimates such as revenue and expenses for taxable repair and maintenance firms, and taxable personal and laundry services. Also included in the report are tax-exempt religious, grant-making, civic, professional, and similar organizations. The data cover firms with paid employees.

Older Worker Profiles. Reports (will be released for each of over 30 states) providing a detailed picture of workers 55 and older at the county and metropolitan area levels for 2004. Based on data from the Local Employment Dynamics program, the reports highlight the age of the states' work force, job gains and losses, industries in which older workers are concentrated, job stability, and earnings. The following states are available as of the publish date of this newsletter:


Reference and Compendia

Super Bowl XLIII (February 1)

Facts for Features: Valentine's Day 2009 (February 14)

St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2009) and Irish-American Heritage Month (March)

 

Upcoming Releases

Population

America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2008. These tables provide national-level demographic characteristics for families and households, such as race, education and marital status. They also contain data on the composition of the American household, such as single-parent families, fathers as child care providers, grandparents as caregivers, stay-at-home parents, age at first marriage and number of children.

Foreign-Born Characteristics: 2007. There were an estimated 38 million people in 2007 living in the United States who were born outside of the country. New data profiles show educational attainment, income, year of entry, occupations, and more based on a group's country of birth. For example, Chinese-born residents in one part of the country are much more likely to graduate high school than others.

School Enrollment in the United States: 2007. Annual update at the national level on the demographics of Americans age 3 and older enrolled in classes - from nursery school through graduate studies - as well as those in vocational training.

Population Change in Central and Outlying Counties of Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2000 to 2007. Analysis of population change and demographic components of change in both core and outlying portions of metro areas. This change is examined by region and division and metro area population size category, as well as for 12 of the most populous metro areas.


Economic Indicators

Monthly Wholesale Trade: December 2008. Press release showing estimates for sales, inventories on a non-LIFO ("last in-first out") basis, and stock-sales ratios for merchant wholesalers by three-digit major kind-of-business groups. Scheduled for release February 10, 2009.

US International Trade in Goods and Services: December 2008. Press release showing monthly exports, general imports (including data by country), and limited data on imports for consumption. Scheduled for release February 11, 2009.

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: January 2009. Press release presenting advance monthly estimates of retail store sales by kind-of-business groups. Report includes seasonally adjusted estimates and percentage changes for major kind-of-business groups. Scheduled for release February 12, 2009.

Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales: December 2008. Press release showing sales, inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratios for the combined domestic activities of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Scheduled for release February 12, 2009.

Housing Starts and Building Permits: January 2009. Press release showing data for housing starts, completions, and building permits. Scheduled for release February 18, 2009.


Reference and Compendia

Facts for Features:

African-American History Month (February). To commemorate and celebrate the contributions to our nation made by people of African descent, the Census Bureau presents a collection of demographic and economic statistics about the black community.