New State/Local Data for April 2009

Demographic Profile of Hispanics in Colorado, 2007

This profile, developed by the Pew Hispanic Center, contains demographic and economic facts about the Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations in the state of Colorado. All analyses are from Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 1% Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) sample of the 2007 American Community Survey. This analysis shows the total Hispanic population in Colorado as 968,000 or 20% of the state population. This page also has a link to data on total Hispanic population for each Colorado county.

Healthcare Workforce Indicators

The Colorado Health Institute has updated all the healthcare workforce indicators on its Web site. Indicators include those related to licensing, employment projections and average wages of physicians, nursing, oral health and mental health care providers, pharmacists and allied health professions. Users can view data on a single Colorado county or compare counties to one another or the state; and download or print tables, trend charts or maps.

Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization for States

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has added a new page that provides information on 6 different measures of unemployment, as follows:

  • U-1, persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force;
  • U-2, job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force;
  • U-3, total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (this is the definition used for the official unemployment rate);
  • U-4, total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers;
  • U-5, total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers; and
  • U-6, total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.

For example, U-4 includes discouraged workers. By this measure the unemployment rate in Colorado was 4.9% in 2008 (compared to the official rate of 4.8%—U-3). Generally, all six measures move together over time, including across business cycles. Similarly, states that have high official unemployment rates tend to have high values for the other five measures; the reverse is true for states with low unemployment rates. South Dakota and Wyoming had the lowest unemployment rates in 2008, 3.0 percent each. Wyoming also had the lowest rates in all five other measures, ranging from 0.5 percent for U-1 to 5.7 percent for U-6. The five states with the lowest unemployment rates—Nebraska, North Dakota, and Utah, in addition to South Dakota and Wyoming—ranked as the five lowest for the other five measures of labor underutilization.

Though these data pertain to the recently-ended calendar year, the deterioration in the labor market in 2008 was so rapid and pronounced that many of these measures understate the current degree of labor market underutilization. For example, the U.S. unemployment rate in December 2008 was 7.2% (seasonally adjusted), well above the 5.8% average for the year as a whole.

2007 Economic Census Data

The US Census Bureau has released an advance report from a series of industry and geographic area data, including information for more than 1,000 communities not available from previous censuses. The report is made up of two data sets, Advance Summary Statistics for the United States: 2007 and Advance Comparative Statistics for the United States: 2007. These show the number of establishments, revenue (sales), payroll and number of employees at the national level for 101 industry groups based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Among the findings in this report:

  • Wholesale trade, manufacturing, and retail trade remained the largest sectors in the U.S. economy.
  • Manufacturers reported shipments of more than $5.3 trillion in 2007, an increase of more than $1.4 trillion from the $3.9 trillion reported in 2002.
  • Food, petroleum and chemicals accounted for more than 56% of the growth in the manufacturing sector ($812 billion of the $1.4 trillion increase) from 2002 to 2007.
  • The health care and social assistance sector continued to have the most employees with nearly 17 million in 2007, an increase of more than 12% from 2002.
  • Among the service-related sectors, employees in the information sector earned the highest average payroll per employee in 2007 ($64,871). The accommodation and food services sector reported the lowest payroll per employee in 2007 ($14,649).

School Enrollment in the United States: 2007

This US Census Bureau data set contains eight detailed tables based on statistics collected in the October School Enrollment Supplement to the Current Population Survey. The national-level data are shown by characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, family income, type of college, employment status and vocational course enrollment. Highlights include:

  • Women continue their majority status, comprising 55% of undergraduates and 60% of graduate students.
  • In 2007, 53% of Hispanic 4-year-olds were enrolled in nursery school, up from 43% in 1997 and 21% in 1987.
  • In 2007, 27% of the population 3 or older were enrolled in classes — from nursery school to graduate studies.
  • More than half (59%) of all 4-year-olds and 39% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in nursery school.
  • Students in grades one through 12 made up 64% of people 3 and older enrolled in school.
  • Students 35 or older comprised 15% of people enrolled in college. They made up 7% of the full-time college students and 36% of those attending part time.

The Rapid Growth and Changing Complexion of Suburban Public Schools

The student population of America's suburban public schools has shot up by 3.4 million in the past decade and a half, and virtually all of this increase (99%) has been due to the enrollment of new Latino, black, and Asian students, according to an analysis of the most recent public school data by the Pew Hispanic Center. Once a largely white enclave, suburban school districts in 2007 educated a student population that was 41.4% non-white, up from 28% in 1993.

Despite the sharp rise in the racial and ethnic diversity of suburban district enrollments overall, there has been only a modest increase in the racial and ethnic diversity of student populations at the level of the individual suburban school. For example, in 2007, the typical white suburban student attended a school which had a 75% white student body; in 1993, this same figure had been 83%.

When it comes to changes in the geographic locus of minority education, the suburbs are where most of the action has been over the past decade and a half. In 1993 city school districts educated a majority of the nation's minority students. That is no longer the case. The movement of minority students into suburban schools has had the overall effect of slightly reducing levels of ethnic and racial segregation throughout the nation's 93,430 public schools.

The report also examines the changes since 1993 in individual suburban school districts. It lists the suburban school districts that have had the fastest growth in minority enrollment, as well as those with the highest levels of racial/ethnic segregation.

Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System

The USDA ERS food availability (per capita) data system includes three distinct but related data series on food consumption in the United States. This historical series measures the national food supply of several hundred foods, and it is the only source of time series data on food availability in the country. The data serve as popular proxies for actual consumption. Food availability data are now available through 2007 at the national level. Also included are data on nutrient availability in the food supply and data on loss-adjusted food availability.

State Variations in the Food Stamp Benefit Reduction Rate for Earnings: Cross-Program Effects from TANF and SSI Cash Assistance

The Food Stamp Program reduces benefits to households as their earnings rise. This reduction is affected by household participation in other Government assistance programs (cross-program effects) and by the wide variation in State-specific reduction rates for earnings in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This USDA ERS study shows that, for food stamp recipients who also received cash benefits through TANF in 2005, an extra dollar of earnings led to a change in food stamp benefits ranging from a reduction of 36 cents to an increase of 9 cents. On average across all States, the overall reduction rate for food stamp benefits and TANF cash benefits was about 70%, or about double the benefit reduction rate for a household that received only food stamp benefits. Even with this high benefit reduction rate, households received larger net incomes by working and earning income. Cross-program effects and State-level variability in food stamp benefits are important considerations in integrating Government assistance programs into a support system for low-income households.

Economic Linkages Between the WIC Program and the Farm Sector

This USDA ERS report finds that, in fiscal 2008, the $4.6 billion of food purchased with vouchers from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) generated $1.3 billion in farm revenue. Because WIC participants would have purchased some of these foods with their own money in the absence of the program, the net addition to farm revenue from WIC is estimated at $331 million and the net increase in full-time-equivalent farm jobs at 2,640. The study uses an Input-Output Multiplier Model to derive these estimates and assumes that recent revisions in the WIC food packages were implemented in all States in fiscal 2008.

Supermarket Loss Estimates for Fresh Fruit, Vegetables, Meat, Poultry and Seafood, and Their Use in the ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data

This USDA ERS study analyzed updated food loss estimates for fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, and seafood obtained through a competitive grant with the Perishables Group, Inc. The new estimates were obtained for use in the ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data. They had little impact on per capita food loss estimates because the new estimates are generally close to the current loss assumptions. The new estimates would increase annual per capita estimates at the retail level by 07 pounds (0.6%) for fresh fruit, 4.2 pounds (2.7%) for fresh vegetables, and 4.8 pounds (2.7%) for fresh meat, poultry, and seafood.

Exploring Alternative Farm Definitions: Implications for Agricultural Statistics and Program Eligibility

Meeting agricultural policy and statistical goals requires a definition of U.S. agriculture’s basic unit, the farm. However, these goals can be at odds with one another. USDA defines “farm” very broadly to comprehensively measure agricultural activity. Consequently, most establishments classified as farms in the United States produce very little, while most production occurs on a small number of much larger operations. While desirable for obtaining comprehensive national coverage, measurement and analysis based on the current definition can provide misleading characterizations of farms and farm structure in the United States. Additionally, more stringent requirements have been proposed for farms to qualify for Federal agricultural program benefits. This analysis outlines the structure of U.S. farms, discusses the current farm definition, evaluates several potential criteria that have been proposed to define target farms more precisely, and examines how these criteria affect both statistical coverage and program eligibility.

National Survey & Focus Groups on Economic Mobility

The Pew Economic Mobility Project reports that, in the midst of an historic economic crisis, Americans insist that despite the recession it is still possible for people to improve their economic standing, and most believe that they control their economic destiny. Americans believe ambition, hard work and education primarily drive mobility, rather than outside forces like the current state of the economy. And while many believe the government hurts more than helps people move up the economic ladder, a majority say that a number of government policies would be effective at encouraging economic mobility. This information is based on a series of focus groups and a national poll commissioned by the Mobility Project.

People report a considerable amount of upward mobility in their lives, and are optimistic about their ability to experience upward mobility in the near future and in their children’s ability to do so in the next generation. However, when presented with a series of facts about mobility in this country—such as the difficulty many people have moving up the economic ladder—most Americans express significant concern.

For many, mobility is more about individual opportunity rather than reducing inequality, more about inherited values than about inherited wealth. It matters less that our society may be growing more stratified than that individuals and their children still have a fair shot at moving up the income ladder.