New State/Local Data for January 2009

New American Community Survey Estimates

The U.S. Census Bureau released 2 sets of estimates based on the American Community Survey (ACS), both based on data collected between January 2005 and December 2007:

  • 3-year ACS estimates for 2005-2007 (published for selected geographic areas with populations of 20,000 or greater, with a new set of multiyear estimates to be produced annually for smaller geographic areas); and
  • 2007 ACS 1-Year estimates (published for selected geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or greater).

Included in these estimates are data for midsize population areas (20,000 to 64,999), whose characteristics have not been released since the last decennial census in 2000. Both ACS 1-year and 3-year estimates can be accessed using the American FactFinder (AFF) on the Census Bureau Web site.

Using the American Community Survey

The US Census Bureau has released several presentations in PowerPoint format to provide important information on various aspects of the American Community Survey (ACS). They have been developed for two main purposes: (1) for individuals to learn more about the ACS and (2) to provide a wide audience with the tools needed to conduct training on the ACS. Each presentation consists of approximately 35 slides and accompanying speakers' notes, including:


New State Population Estimates: July 1, 2008

Utah was the nation’s fastest-growing state between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008, as its population climbed 2.5% to 2.7 million, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Arizona was the second fastest-growing state, increasing 2.3% between 2007 and 2008. Texas, North Carolina and Colorado completed the top five, each with a growth rate of 2.0%. Nevada, which had been among the four fastest-growing states each of the last 24 years, grew 1.8% and ranked eighth over the most recent period. Other highlights include:

  • On the whole, the Northeastern states have gained population at an increasing rate since 2005, a turnaround from their declining growth rates from 2000 to 2005.
  • Six of the 10 fastest-growing states from 2007 to 2008 were Rocky Mountain states: Arizona (2.3%), Colorado (2%), Idaho (1.8%), Nevada (1.8%), Utah (2.5%) and Wyoming (1.8%). Three others lined the South Atlantic coast: Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
  • The West was the fastest-growing region (1.4%) between 2007 and 2008, but the South added the highest number of people over the period (1.4 million).

Americans With Disabilities: 2005

About one in five U.S. residents - 19% - reported some level of disability in 2005, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report, based on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. These 54.4 million Americans are roughly equal to the combined total populations of California and Florida. Both the number and percentage of people with disabilities were higher than in 2002, the last time the Census Bureau collected such information. At that time, 51.2 million, or 18%, reported a disability. Findings include:

  • Among those with a disability, 35 million, or 12% of the population, were classified as having a severe disability.
  • Nearly half (46%) of people age 21 to 64 with a disability were employed, compared with 84% of people in this age group without a disability. Among those with disabilities, 31% with severe disabilities and 75% with nonsevere disabilities were employed. People with difficulty hearing were more likely to be employed than those with difficulty seeing (59% compared with 41%).
  • A portion of people with disabilities — 11 million age 6 and older — needed personal assistance with everyday activities. These activities include such tasks as getting around inside the home, taking a bath or shower, preparing meals and performing light housework.
  • The chances of having a disability increase with age: 18.1 million people 65 and older, or 52%, had a disability. Of this number, 12.9 million, or 37%, had a severe disability. For people 80 and older, the disability rate was 71%, with 56% having a severe disability.
  • Among people 16 to 64, 13.3 million, or 7%, reported difficulty finding a job or remaining employed because of a health-related condition.
  • Among people 25 to 64 with a severe disability, 27% were in poverty, compared with 12% for people with a nonsevere disability and 9% for those without a disability. Median monthly earnings were $1,458 for people with a severe disability, $2,250 for people with a nonsevere disability and $2,539 for those with no disability.

New Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates

The U.S. Census Bureau released income and poverty estimates for school districts, counties, and states, for 2006 and 2007. These data are the most reliable for comparisons across small areas, over time, and are available for most years from 1993 to 2007. Beginning with the estimates for 2005, data from the American Community Survey are used in the estimation procedure; all prior year estimates used data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplements of the Current Population Survey.

State Fact Sheets

Economic Research Service State Fact Sheets contain frequently requested data for each state and for the total United States. These include current data on population, per-capita income, earnings per job, poverty rates, employment, unemployment, farm and farm-related jobs, farm characteristics, farm financial characteristics, top agricultural commodities, top export commodities, and the top counties in agricultural sales. The latest (2007) data on county and State poverty and median household income are now available, including Colorado.

Business Dynamics Statistics

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new series, Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS), a data series that allows users to track annual changes in employment for growing and shrinking businesses at the establishment level, with data available from 1976 to 2005. Annual files are also provided at the state level for Standard Industrial Classification sectors and for the economy as a whole.

There are more than 6 million establishments with paid employees in the United States. These businesses are dynamic: opening and closing, adding and losing employees. The BDS monitors this activity, tracking annual job creation and destruction at the establishment level using elements not found in similar databases, such as firm age and size. These statistics are crucial to understanding current and historical entrepreneurial activity in the U.S. A number of key economic data items are tabulated by the Business Dynamics Statistics, including number of establishments, establishment openings and closings, employment, job creation and destruction, and job expansions and contractions. Findings from the Business Dynamics Statistics include:

  • States differ substantially in the creation and establishment of new businesses. States with higher entrepreneurial activity are in the West and Southwest, with as much as 12% of employment accounted for by young firms (less than 3 years old). In contrast, states with low entrepreneurial activity are in the East and Midwest, and have about 6% of employment accounted for by young firms.
  • Establishments owned by younger firms grow faster, on average, than those owned by older firms. However, many young firms close shortly after they open, so the job destruction rate is also higher for establishments owned by younger firms. Hence, BDS shows the pattern for young businesses is one of “up or out,” with rapid net growth for survivors balanced by a high exit rate.
  • The BDS shows that the fraction of employment accounted for by business startups in the U.S. private sector over the 1980-2005 period is about 3% per year. This exceeds the 1.8% average annual net employment growth. This pattern implies that job destruction exceeds job creation at existing businesses and highlights the importance of business startups for job creation in the U.S. economy.

Fiscal Survey of States

For the first time in 25 years, states expect to see a decrease in spending in the current fiscal 2009 budget cycle — a reflection of how the economic tailspin is affecting states, according to a new report released by from the National Association of State Budget Officers and National Governors Association which features state-by-state data including tax cuts and increases, preliminary figures for fiscal 2008 and projected year-end balances for 2009. For the current year, states expect a 0.1% drop in spending.

State fiscal conditions slowed for most states in fiscal 2008 and have continued to deteriorate in fiscal 2009. While nominal general fund expenditures and revenue collections increased for many states in fiscal 2008, more than half the states saw negative growth in general fund expenditures and revenue collections after accounting for inflation. Conditions in fiscal 2008 varied widely across states, as certain states prospered significantly more due to a run in commodity prices, while other states were significantly more exposed to the economic downturn sparked by the housing crisis.

The 2007 State Expenditure Report, also report released by the National Association of State Budget Officers and National Governors Association, showed that similar to fiscal 2005 and 2006, states experienced stable expenditure and revenue growth in fiscal 2007. Both spending and revenue totals increased for states in almost all categories. Estimates for fiscal 2008 reflect an 8.2% increase in total state expenditures, with state funds up by 7.3% and federal funds 10.6% higher. Corporate income tax revenues saw the largest growth in fiscal 2007 at 11.4%, while personal income tax revenues grew at 7.6%, and sales tax revenue grew at 3.6%. General fund revenue growth is estimated to slow to 2.6% in fiscal 2008. Furthermore, the economic events of the second-half of calendar year 2008 indicate that both state expenditure and revenue growth will likely slow in the coming years.

OnTheMap - Local Employment Dynamics

The U.S. Census Bureau released a new version of its Local Employment Dynamics mapping tool, OnTheMap, with five years of employment and industry data for local areas in 46 partner states. On The Map allows users to create, view, print and download workforce related maps, demographic profiles, and reports to study workforce, transportation, and economic development issues.

2008 TIGER/Line Shapefiles

TIGER/Line®Shapefiles (or Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing files) are spatial extracts from the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER® (Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) database. The MAF/TIGER database was developed at the Census Bureau to support a variety of geographic programs, operations, and mapping. Shapefiles are typically used to provide the digital map base for Geographic Information Systems and map software. The 2008 TIGER/Line®Shapefiles include features such as roads, railroads, and rivers, as well as legal and statistical geographic areas for all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island areas. These files are made available to the public for no charge on the Census Bureau's public website. Previous years’ files are still available on the TIGER Web page.

National Reports with Local Relevance:


Latino Workers in the Ongoing Recession: 2007 to 2008

A small but significant decline has occurred during the current recession in the share of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Workers who are employed or looking for work are said to be active in the labor market.

The proportion of working-age Latino immigrants active in the labor force has fallen, at least through the third quarter of 2008, while the proportion of all non-Hispanics as well as of native-born Hispanics has held steady. Among Hispanic immigrants, the decrease is sharpest among those from Mexico and those who arrived in the U.S. since 2000. Also, the increase in the number of foreign-born Latinos in the labor force is much smaller than previous years.

The labor market data do not paint an unrelentingly negative picture for Hispanic immigrants. The estimated increase in their unemployment rate is not as high as the increase for native-born Hispanic workers. Also, median weekly wages fell for native-born Hispanics but not for foreign-born workers. These developments, however, could be an artifact, a consequence of the likely withdrawal of low-wage foreign-born Hispanics from the labor force.

Rising Food Prices Take a Bite out of Food Stamp Benefits

A USDA Economic Research Service report discusses the Food Stamp Program, which is designed to provide low-income families with increased food purchasing power to obtain a nutritionally adequate diet. As in most other Federal Government assistance programs, benefits are adjusted in response to rising prices—in this case, rising food prices. The current method of adjustment results in a shortfall between the maximum food stamp benefit and the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet as specified by USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan. During fiscal year (FY) 2007, the shortfall in the caseload-weighted maximum benefit for the program grew from $7 in October 2006 to $19 in September 2007. In FY 2008, the amount grew from almost $8 in October 2007 to $34 in July 2008 and to $38 in September 2008. In an average month, food stamp households faced shortfalls of over $2 in FY 2003, $12 in FY 2007, and $22 in FY 2008. These losses in food purchasing power account for 1%, 4%, and 7% of the maximum benefit in each respective year. Alternative adjustment methods can reduce the shortfall but will raise program costs.

Behavioral Economic Concepts to Encourage Healthy Eating in School Cafeterias

USDA ERS reports that changing small factors that influence consumer choice may lead to healthier eating within controlled settings, such as school cafeterias. This report describes a behavioral experiment in a college cafeteria to assess the effects of various payment options and menu selection methods on food choices. The results indicate that payment options, such as cash or debit cards, can significantly affect food choices. College students using a card that prepaid only for healthful foods made more nutritious choices than students using either cash or general debit cards. How and when individuals select their food can also influence food choices. College students who pre-selected their meals from a menu board made significantly different food choices than students who ordered their meals while viewing the foods in line.

Agricultural Income and Finance Outlook

This report examines historic and the most recent sector-level and farm-level data and concludes that the American farm sector as a whole is in a relatively strong financial position entering 2009. Despite recent price declines, 2008 remains a historically strong year for the agricultural economy. The past four years have witnessed exceptional earnings for U.S. agriculture. Including the forecast for 2008, crop and livestock production values each will have established new highs in three of the last five years (2004, 2007, and 2008). Likewise, agriculture’s net value added to the U.S. economy will have established three new record highs. Net cash income has also established multiple record highs between 2004 and 2008.