November 17, 2006
Headline News
Privately-Owned Housing Starts in October Were at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 1,486,000. This Is 14.6 Percent Below the Revised September 2006 Estimate of 1,740,000. (Released November 17, 2006)
Facts For Features: The Holiday Season. (Released November 16, 2006)
North American Transportation in Figures. (Released November 15, 2006)
U.S. Total Business Sales for September Were $1,050.8 Billion, Down 2.0 Percent From Last Month. Month-End Inventories Were $1,362.6 Billion, Up 0.4 Percent From Last Month. (Released November 14, 2006)
U.S. Retail and Food Service Sales for October Reached $363.7 Billion, Down 0.2 Percent From
the Previous Month. (Released November 14, 2006)
New Population Profiles Released by Census Bureau. American Community Survey Data Iterated by Race, Hispanic Origin, Ancestry, and Age. (Released November 14, 2006)
Census 2010 Dress Rehearsal Jobs Available in the Fayetteville Area. (Released November 13, 2006)
The Nation's International Deficit in Goods and Services Decreased to $64.3 Billion in September from $69.0 Billion (Revised) in August, as Exports Increased and Imports Decreased. (Released November 9, 2006)
September 2006 Sales of Merchant Wholesalers Were $330.2 Billion, Down 1.2 Percent From Last Month. End-of-Month Inventories Were $390.3 Billion, Up 0.8 Percent From Last Month. (Released November 9, 2006)
Technical Paper No. 66 (Current Population Survey Design and Methodology) Now Available. (Released November 7, 2006)
Census Bureau to Update Employment Numbers. (Released November 7, 2006)
Census 2010 Dress Rehearsal Jobs Available in San Joaquin County. (Released November 6, 2006)
Federal Assistance Award Data System: 4th Quarter 2005. (Released November 2, 2006)
Sign Up Early!
Understanding Federal Statistics (UFS) is a four-day, computer-based workshop at the Graduate School, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, DC. Openings are available for the February, June, and October 2007 workshops. Visit our web site for registration information.
Fact of the Day
78 Percent of Homes Heat With Fuel Oil or Kerosene in Maine, Over Nine Times the U.S. Average
Fuel oil, kerosene, gasoline, alcohol, and other combustible fluids help homes in Maine cope with the bitter cold of winter. Over 87 percent of the homes (over 423,000) use this as their principal fuel. Vermont and New Hampshire at 56 percent are distant seconds, followed by Connecticut (51 percent), Rhode Island (41), and Massachusetts(36). The national average is 8 percent.
Information on heating fuels is collected in the American Community Survey. The 2005 data cited above comes from the popular ranking tables found in the American FactFinder. Go to the FactFinder link on the home page and click there, and then on the American Community Survey. Choose the "Ranking Tables." The rankings also show the percentage of housing units heating with electricity or gas as their principal fuel.
Hot Tip
Coming Soon! Census 2010 Website!
Although the next population and housing census is still over three years away, the Census Bureau has been busily preparing for the big head count. As you read in our headline items, we are preparing for the dress rehearsal census in 2008. Soon you'll have a website devoted to news about the next census. Watch our home page!
Recently Released
Population
2006 State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. Report available online in PDF (PDF - 10.2mb) or in print from the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Features more than 1,500 data items for the United States and individual states, counties, and metropolitan areas from a variety of sources. Topics include age, agriculture, births, business establishments, communications, construction, cost of living, crime, etc. Click here for online tables, or for information on ordering the report in print.
County Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005. CD-ROM containing a single file (CSV format) showing county population estimates for the years 2000 to 2005. County estimates are available by state online. CD-ROM available from Customer Services Center (C1-P05-CCES-01-US1; $50).
Census Bureau Data Underscore Value of College Degree. Read more in Educational Attainment in the United States: 2005 based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). Online tables in spreadsheet format containing data on educational trends. Attainment levels are shown by characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, occupation, industry, nativity and period of entry, as well as metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residence. The tabulations also include data on earnings. Mostly national level statistics, some data for regions and states.
Current Population Survey Design and Methodology (Technical Paper No. 66). This document describes changes made to the Current Population Survey (CPS) since 2000. The CPS is the country's primary source of labor force statistics.
Fourth Wave of 2005 American Community Survey Data. Internet files in American FactFinder showing profiles of social, economic and housing characteristics for selected age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin and ancestry groups for nearly 7,000 areas, including all congressional districts and counties, cities and American Indian/Alaska Native areas of 65,000 population or more.
USA Counties Website Contains Hundreds of New and Revised Statistics! The website has been updated and now contains 456 new and revised items. New items include 2005 civilian labor force statistics, 2005 social programs and supplemental security income data, and data on 2005 building permits. Data tables as well as a list of new items available online.
Latest Economic Indicators
Monthly Wholesale Trade: September 2006. 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: September 2006. 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: October 2006. 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: September 2006. 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: October 2006. Press release showing data for housing starts, completions, and building permits.
Retail E-Commerce Sales: 3rd Quarter 2006. Press release showing quarterly estimates for retail e-commerce sales.
Economic Census and Surveys
ZIP Code Business Patterns 2003-2004 Released on DVD (Product ID: V1-E04-ZCBP-09-US1, $70). Files on DVD presenting business establishment counts summarized for nine employment-size classes by hundreds of NAICS codes and about 40,000 ZIP codes nationwide. A second data set includes summary data by ZIP Code (no NAICS or employment-size class breakdown) for number of employees, first-quarter payroll, annual payroll, and total number of establishments. Data also available online.
Governments
Block Grants, Direct Loans, Other Federal Assistance Data Released. Online file showing quarterly data on types of federal assistance made by agencies. All four quarters of 2005 available. Data for states, counties, and places.
Housing
Rental Market Hot or Cold? Read more in Market Absorption of Apartments First Quarter 2006 Absorptions. PDF report (PDF - 1mb) presenting data for the United States and regions concerning the rate at which nonsubsidized, privately financed, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units are rented or sold (that is, "absorbed"). Data are shown quarterly by rent class and number of bedrooms. Information by price class and number of bedrooms is shown for condominium apartments. Historical tables are presented for unfurnished apartments and for all apartment completions.
OMB Announcements
New Feature in the Census Product Update! The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has an online site to publish notices and rules from federal agencies on their programs. Many notices invite public comment. Below are some recent OMB postings dealing with the programs and activities of the Census Bureau:
Service Annual Survey for 2006 (Posted November 7, 2006).
Annual Retail Trade Survey (Posted November 7, 2006).
Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (Posted October 30, 2006).
Census Advisory Committees (Posted October 24, 2006). Meeting.
Census Coverage Measurement Independent Listing and Relisting Operations (Posted October
10, 2006). Comments due: December 11, 2006.
2007 Economic Census Covering the Manufacturing Sector (Posted September 26, 2006).
Comments due: November 27, 2006.
Reference and Compendia
North American Transportation in Figures. Report available in PDF or in print showing a comprehensive overview of transportation statistics in North America. English, French, and Spanish editions of the report are available, each containing more than 90 data tables supported by graphs, figures, maps, and a number of appendixes. Print copy from U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (202-266-3282).
Facts for Features. Collections of statistics from the Census Bureau's demographic and economic subject areas commemorate anniversaries or observances or provide background information for topics in the news:
Special Edition: 300 Million People
The Holiday Season
Thanksgiving Day (November 23rd)
Veteran's Day (November 11, 2006)
American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November)
Upcoming Releases
Population
America Speaks: A Demographic Profile of Foreign-Language Speakers for the United States: 2000. Internet files show national- and state-level data on who speaks English and does not, broken down by type of household, age of householder, education attainment, and income.
Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Participation in Government Programs, 2001 Through 2003, Who Gets Assistance? Report available online in PDF focusing on the characteristics and participation of people who received benefits from a number of means-tested assistance programs.
International Data Base Update: 2006. Internet files show demographic indicators such as infant mortality, life expectancy, fertility rates, net migration and population growth for 228 countries and areas of the world include current estimates and moving population pyramids that project age and sex distribution to 2050.
Thirty-five Years of Tracking Hispanic Ethnicity: Analysis of Current Population Survey Data Quality for the Question of Tracking Hispanic Ethnicity: Analysis of Current Population Survey Data Quality for the Question on Hispanic Origin, 1969 to 2004 (Working Paper No. 80). This document examines the quality of Hispanic data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the consistency of CPS results with external administrative information. The paper concludes with a recommendation concerning which Hispanic groups the Census Bureau should show in future data products.
Economic Indicators
Housing Starts and Building Permits: October 2006. Press release showing data for housing starts, completions, and building permits. Scheduled for release November 17, 2006.
Retail E-Commerce Sales: 3rd Quarter 2006. Press release showing quarterly estimates for retail e-commerce sales. Scheduled for release November 17, 2006.
Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: October 2006. Press release showing advance information on key business indicators. Scheduled for release November 28, 2006.
New Residential Sales: October 2006. 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 November 29, 2006.
Construction Spending (Put-in-Place): October 2006. 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 December 1, 2006.
US International Trade in Goods and Services: October 2006. Press release showing monthly exports, general imports (including data by country), and limited data on imports for consumption. Scheduled for release December 1, 2006.
Economic Surveys
2005 Annual Survey of Manufactures: Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries. Internet tables and report in PDF details manufacturing activity including employment and payroll, number of production workers and wages, cost of materials, value added by manufacturers, value of shipments, total capital expenditures, and other measures of manufacturing.
2005 Annual Survey of Manufactures: Product Shipments. Internet tables and report in PDF presents shipments data for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) product groups, product classes, and products primary to more than one industry. Includes data for manufactures' products ranging from airplanes to zippers for the years 2002 through 2005.
2005 Annual Survey of Manufactures: Geographic Area Statistics. Internet tables and report in PDF contains state-level data for industry groups at the three-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) level. Includes statistics on employment, payroll, value added by manufacture, cost of materials consumed, value of shipments, and total capital expenditures.
November 03, 2006
Headline News
New Orders for Manufactured Goods in September Increased $8.6 Billion or 2.1 Percent to $411.2 Billion. (Released November 2, 2006)
Total Construction Activity for September 2006 ($1,195.9 Billion) Was 0.3 Percent Below the Revised August 2006 ($1,200.0 Billion) Figure. (Released November 1, 2006)
Homeownership Rate in the Third Quarter 2006 (69.0 percent) Was Not Statistically Different From the Third Quarter 2005 Rate (68.8 percent). (Released October 27, 2006)
Census Bureau Data Underscore Value of College Degree. (Released October 26, 2006)
New Orders for Manufactured Durable Goods in September Increased $16.3 Billion or 7.8 Percent to $226.7 Billion. (Released October 26, 2006)
Sales of New One-Family Houses in September 2006 Were at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 1,075,000. (Released October 26, 2006)
Rochester a Health Mecca, Florida Metros Lead Medicare Rolls, Virginia Tops in Newspaper Readership. (Released October 25, 2006)
How Quickly Are Apartments Rented or Sold? (PDF - 1mb) (Released October 24, 2006)
USA Counties Website Contains Hundreds of New and Revised Statistics! (Released October 23, 2006)
Sign Up Early!
Understanding Federal Statistics (UFS) is a four-day, computer-based workshop at the Graduate School, USDA in Washington, DC. Openings are available for the 2007 February, June, and October workshops. Visit our web site for registration information.
Fact of the Day
State and Metropolitan Area Data Book
The top five metro areas in the proportion of doctors to the population each have more than 1,000 physicians per 100,000 persons, according to data published in the Census Bureau's State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, now available online and in print.
Leading the way was Rochester, Minnesota with 1,720 physicians per 100,000 people. The other four with more than 1,000 were Iowa City, IA (No. 2 with 1,294); Charlottesville, VA (No. 4 with 1,057); and Ann Arbor, MI (No. 5 with 1,023).
These data illustrate one of the major benefits of the Data Book: it has data from the Census Bureau and a variety of government and nongovernment sources. The online version also incorporates links to the data tables so you can zip to the source.
Hot Tip
American Community Survey Tables Comparable to Census 2000 Summary File 3
Most people know that the American Community Survey tables basically echo the tables published in Census 2000 Summary Files. Figuring out which tables match up in these two data sets can be tough unless you access a comparability table on the ACS website.
Recently Released
Help Us Improve the Census Bureau Web Site! Take 10 minutes to fill out the 2006 Survey of Census Bureau Web Site Visitors and Associated Programs. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting a study to evaluate its online presence, products, and services to you. Your opinions and ideas are important to us. Your responses are voluntary and will remain confidential. This survey is being conducted under OMB Clearance Number 0607-0760 expiring September 30, 2007.
Population
2006 State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. (PDF - 10.2mb). Publication features more than 1,500 data items for the United States and individual states, counties, and metropolitan areas from a variety of sources. Topics include age, agriculture, births, business establishments, communications, construction, cost of living, crime, deaths, education, elections, employment, energy, finance, government, health and households. Click here for online tables, or for ordering information (print copy).
County Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005. CD-ROM containing a single file (CSV format) showing county population estimates for the years 2000 to 2005. County estimates are available by state online.
Detailed Tables Provide Data on Educational Attainment and School Enrollment. Online tables in spreadsheet format (about 1,200 tables) provide data in greater detail than other Census 2000 products. Tables for 15 race groups and each of the states cover subjects that include the education of native- and foreign-born residents by age, education by labor force status, earnings by education level, school enrollment by age and characteristics of adults enrolled in school.
Census Bureau Data Underscore Value of College Degree. Read more in Educational Attainment in the United States: 2005. Online tables in spreadsheet format containing data on educational trends. Attainment levels are shown by characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, occupation, industry, nativity and period of
entry, as well as metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residence. The tabulations also include data on earnings and educational attainment. Although the statistics provided are primarily at the national level, some data are shown for regions and states. The data are from the 2005 Current Population Survey's (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC).
USA Counties Website Contains Hundreds of New and Revised Statistics! The website has been updated and now contains 456 new and revised items (for a list of new items, please see http://censtats.census.gov/usa/newitems.html). New items include 2005 civilian labor force statistics, 2005 social programs and supplemental security income data, and data on 2005 building permits.
Latest Economic Indicators
Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: September 2006. Press release showing advance information on key business indicators.
New Residential Sales: September 2006. Press release reporting new one-family houses sold and for sale. Includes sales prices, months on the market, and stage of construction.
Housing Vacancies: 3rd Quarter 2006. Press release showing rental and homeowner vacancy rates and characteristics of units available for occupancy.
Construction Spending (Put-in-Place): September 2006. 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).
Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: September 2006. 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
2002 Survey of Business Owners, Characteristics of Businesses. Internet tables and report in PDF (PDF - 7.56mb) showing data for respondent firms by Hispanic or Latino origin, race, and gender and presented by industry classifications at the U.S. level and by size of firm (employment and receipts). Data include additional demographic and economic business characteristics for home-based, family-owned, and franchised businesses; types of customers and workers; sources of financing for expansion, capital improvements, or start-up; the year the owner(s) in 2002 established, purchased, or acquired the business; and the sole proprietor's self-employment or business activities.
2002 Survey of Business Owners, Characteristics of Business Owners. Internet tables and report in PDF (PDF - 512kb) showing data for the owners of respondent firms presented by employment status and business interest. Data include additional demographic and economic owner characteristics, such as: Hispanic or Latino origin, race, gender, age, education level, and veteran status; average number of hours spent managing or working in the business; primary function in the business; and whether the business provided the primary source of personal income.
ZIP Code Business Patterns 2003-2004 Released on DVD. Files on DVD presenting business establishment counts summarized for nine employment-size classes by hundreds of NAICS codes and about 40,000 ZIP codes nationwide. A second data set includes summary data by ZIP Code (no NAICS or employment-size class breakdown) for number of employees, first-quarter payroll, annual payroll, and total number of establishments. (Product ID: V1-E04-ZCBP-09-US1, $70)
Governments
2005 State and Local Government Employee-Retirement Systems. Annual data on revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership for public employee-retirement systems. Data are shown for individual retirement systems as well as overall at the national, state, and local levels.
Housing
How Quickly Are Apartments Rented or Sold? (PDF - 1mb). Read more in Market Absorption of Apartments First Quarter 2006 Absorptions. PDF report presenting data for the United States and regions concerning the rate at which nonsubsidized, privately financed, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units are rented or sold (that is, absorbed). Data are shown quarterly by rent class and number of bedrooms. Historical tables are presented for unfurnished apartments and for all apartment completions. Information is provided on the rate at which cooperative and condominium apartments are sold. Information by price class and number of bedrooms is shown for condominium apartments.
OMB Announcements
New Feature in the Census Product Update! The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has an online site to publish notices and rules from federal agencies on their programs. Many notices invite public comment. Below are some recent OMB postings dealing with the programs and activities of the Census Bureau:
Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (Posted October 30, 2006).
Census Advisory Committees (Posted October 24, 2006). Meeting.
Census Coverage Measurement Independent Listing and Relisting Operations (Posted October 10, 2006). Comments due: December 11, 2006.
2007 Economic Census Covering the Manufacturing Sector (Posted September 26, 2006). Comments due: November 27, 2006.
Census Advisory Committee of Professional Associations (Posted September 18, 2006). Meeting.
Report of Privately-Owned Residential Building or Zoning Permits Issued (Building Permits Survey). (Posted September 13, 2006). Comments due: November 13, 2006.
2006 Company Organization Survey (Posted September 1, 2006). Notice of Determination.
Reference and Compendia
Facts for Features. Collections of statistics from the Census Bureau's demographic and economic subject areas commemorate anniversaries or observances or provide background information for topics in the news:
Special Edition: 300 Million People
Thanksgiving Day (November 23rd)
Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - Oct. 15)
Veteran's Day (November 11, 2006)
American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November)
Upcoming Releases
Population
America Speaks: A Demographic Profile of Foreign-Language Speakers for the United States: 2000. Internet files show national- and state-level data on who speaks English and does not, broken down by type of household, age of householder, education attainment, and income.
Current Population Survey Design and Methodology (Technical Paper No. 66). This document describes changes made to the Current Population Survey (CPS) since 2000. The CPS is the country's primary source of labor force statistics.
Fourth Wave of 2005 American Community Survey Data. The latest release show profiles of social, economic and housing characteristics for selected age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin and ancestry groups for nearly 7,000 areas, including all congressional districts and counties, cities and American Indian/Alaska Native areas of 65,000 population or more.
International Data Base Update: 2006. Internet files showing demographic indicators such as infant mortality, life expectancy, fertility rates, net migration and population growth for 228 countries and areas of the world include current estimates and moving population pyramids that project age and sex distribution to 2050.
Economic Indicators
Monthly Wholesale Trade: September 2006. 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 November 9, 2006.
US International Trade in Goods and Services: September 2006. Press release showing monthly exports, general imports (including data by country), and limited data on imports for consumption. Scheduled for release November 9, 2006.
Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: October 2006. 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 November 14, 2006.
Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales: September 2006. Press release showing sales, inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratios for the combined domestic activities of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Scheduled for release November 14, 2006.
Housing Starts and Building Permits: October 2006. Press release showing data for housing starts, completions, and building permits. Scheduled for release November 17, 2006.
Retail E-Commerce Sales: 3rd Quarter 2006. Press release showing quarterly estimates for retail e-commerce sales. Scheduled for release November 17, 2006.
Reference and Compendia
Facts for Features: Holiday Season. Ho! Ho! Ho! Holiday-related facts and figures from the Census Bureau's data collection.
