Statistics and Indicators

Outlook also better for capital spending and credit availability

SAN FRANCISCO -- November 3, 2009 -- Optimism among small business owners improved during October, driven by improved outlook for revenue, capital spending and hiring, according to the latest results of the quarterly Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index.

Concluded October 9, the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index optimism score came in at negative 15 (-15), a net six-point increase from the previous survey (conducted in July, 2009), and 129 points lower than the Index high of 114 (conducted December, 2006). A score of zero indicates that small business owners, as a group, are neutral -- neither optimistic nor pessimistic -- about their companies’ situations.    » read more »

October 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Lois Capps released the following statement today after the announcement that GDP rose 3.5% in the third quarter of 2009:

“Today’s announcement that GDP grew by 3.5% in the third quarter of this year is positive news and encouraging, providing another sign that our economy is slowly recovering from the deepest recession in 75 years. This growth is significant, amounting to a turnaround of nearly 10% in just two quarters and it stands in contrast to the beginning of the year when the economy contracted by 6.4%. This is also the largest reversal of GDP since 1980, and the first increase since last year.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- "Data released today by the Commerce Department show that real GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of the year. This is in stark contrast to the decline of 6.4 percent annual rate just two quarters ago. Indeed, the two-quarter swing in the rate of growth of 9.9 percentage points was the largest since 1980. Analysis by both the Council of Economic Advisers and a wide range of private and public-sector forecasters indicate

"s that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 contributed between 3 and 4 percentage points to real GDP growth in the third quarter. This suggests that in the absence of the Recovery Act, real GDP would have risen little, if at all, this past quarter.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

October 29, 2009 -- In the week ending Oct. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 530,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 531,000. The 4-week moving average was 526,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 532,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4 percent for the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.5 percent.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the following statement on Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales: 2005-2007, which the National Center for Education Statistics released today:

"Today's study confirms what we've known for a long time: States are setting the bar too low. In all but a few cases, states aren't expecting students to meet NAEP's standard of proficiency. Far too many states are telling students that they are proficient when they actually are performing below NAEP's basic level.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- Washington D.C. -- According to information released today by the FBI, 41 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty last year; 68 officers died in accidents while performing their duties; and 58,792 officers were assaulted while on duty. The 2008 edition of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted released today provides comprehensive tabular data about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks.

Felonious Deaths    » read more »

Young & Low-Income Groups Most Likely to Have Lost Coverage, 19% of Households Earning More Than $100K Impacted

UTICA, New York - Twenty-six percent of U.S. adults report that at least one member of their immediate family lost their health insurance coverage within the past year, a new Zogby Interactive poll shows.

Somewhat more likely to have lost coverage are those in households earning $35,000 and less (37%) and First GlobalsTM those 18-29 years old (35%). Nineteen percent of families earning $100,000 or more also had someone lose coverage during that period, as did 18% of the families of the Private Generation, those 65 and older.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

October 15, 2009 -- In the week ending Oct. 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 514,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 524,000. The 4-week moving average was 531,500, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised average of 540,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 3, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »

Average Net Worth of Hong Kong HNWIs Remains Highest in the Region

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 -- Asia Pacific's population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs)(1) fell 14.2% to 2.4 million in 2008 amid a global economic downturn and market volatility, according to the Asia-Pacific Wealth Report released today by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. The combined wealth of the region's HNWIs dropped 22.3% to US$7.4 trillion.

Ultra-HNWIs, or individuals with investable assets of at least US$30 million, witnessed steeper wealth erosion than the HNWI population in the region. The number of ultra-HNWIs in Asia Pacific fell 29.6% to 14,300 and their total wealth shrank 35.1%.

China and India to Lead Growth in Asia Pacific HNWI Wealth    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

Oct. 8, 2009 -- In the week ending Oct. 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 521,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 554,000. The 4-week moving average was 539,750, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised average of 548,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.5 percent for the week ending Sept. 26, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- The September 2009 average temperature for the contiguous United States was above the long-term average, according to NOAA’s monthly State of the Climate report issued today. Based on records going back to 1895, the monthly National Climatic Data Center analysis is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides.

The average September temperature of 66.4 degrees F was 1.0 degree F above the 20th Century average. Precipitation across the contiguous United States in September averaged 2.48 inches, exactly the 1901-2000 average.

U.S. Temperature Highlights    » read more »

Washington, DC - 10/08/2009 - A new, comprehensive study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion. Released today by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, Mapping the Global Muslim Population offers the most up-to-date and fully sourced estimates of the size and distribution of the worldwide Muslim population, including sectarian identity.

Key findings include:

* While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa.    » read more »

Boston, MA (Oct 05, 2009) -- Expanding health coverage might not cost as much as policymakers assume.

New findings from researchers at Harvard Medical School demonstrate that individuals who were either continuously or intermittently uninsured between the ages of 51 and 64 cost Medicare more than those who had continuous insurance coverage in the years prior to Medicare eligibility.

On average, those who were previously uninsured cost Medicare an additional $1,000 annually per person when compared with those who had been consistently covered. These increased costs were due primarily to complications resulting from cardiovascular disease and diabetes and from apparently delayed surgeries for arthritis.    » read more »

10/02/2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the September 2009 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past September, the economy lost 263,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate increased to 9.8 percent.

"At the beginning of this year, the economy was in an unprecedented freefall, shedding 700,000 jobs a month. This administration met these challenges head on by putting a plan in place designed to create jobs and drive economic growth through a combination of tax relief for individuals and businesses, aid to hard-hit families and state and local governments, and funding for science, technology and infrastructure projects across the country.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

October 1, 2009 -- In the week ending Sept. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 551,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 534,000. The 4-week moving average was 548,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 554,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for the week ending Sept. 19, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »