Statistics and Indicators

Declines in U.S. Petroleum Consumption Expected to Continue

If you feel like you’ve been economizing by driving less and adjusting your thermostat more, you’re not alone. Total U.S. petroleum consumption reported in today’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) is once again lower than the same week last year.

Average monthly total petroleum consumption has now declined for 12 consecutive months when compared with the same month the year before. Within the last 25 years, we’ve identified 6 other 12-month periods during which there was a sustained drop in total petroleum consumption from the previous year.    » read more »

Survey of Public Views of Health Care System Finds One in Three Patients Experience Unnecessary or Inefficient Care; Want Presidential Candidates to Address Health Care Costs, Quality and the Uninsured

August, 2008 -- New York, NY—Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. health care system and 82 percent think it should be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt, according to a new survey released today by The Commonwealth Fund. Also today, The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System released a report outlining what an ideally organized U.S. health care system would look like, and detailing strategies that could create that organized, efficient health care system while simultaneously improving care and cutting costs.    » read more »

June 17, 2008 -- ROCHESTER, Minn. — Researchers have long suspected that socioeconomic factors like education level and income also might affect survival rates following heart attack. In the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic researchers present new data suggesting that people with lower incomes and education levels are more likely to die after heart attack than more affluent, educated people.    » read more »

June 6, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Anthony Coley, spokesman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, released the following statement concerning today's jobs numbers, which showed a dramatic jump in the unemployment rate from 5.0 to 5.5 percent and an increase by 861,000 in the number of unemployed Americans (to a total of 8.5 million).

Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is the author of pending legislation to temporarily extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- LANSING - Michigan has one of the best health care systems for children, according to a recent nationwide study. The Commonwealth Fund Report, titled U.S. Variations in Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard, examines state-by-state information and evaluates how the health system is performing for children.

"It is our goal to ensure universal access to affordable health care to all of our citizens, so it is good news for Michigan families that kids are getting health care," said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "It is an honor for our state to be recognized has having one of the top health care systems for children in the nation."    » read more »

One in Four Deaths Caused by Children Playing with Matches or Lighters

May 29, 2008 -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today released the second annual Child Fatality Report, a review of preventable fatalities among children ages one to 12 years that found that fires are the second leading cause of child deaths from injuries in New York City after motor vehicle accidents.

An apartment fire on Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn: Photo by Michael Williams (CC)    » read more »

Boating Statistics 2007 Report indicates Rise in Accidents, Injuries, and Property Damage

May 15, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - Deaths resulting from recreational boating accidents fell in 2007, according to figures released today by the United States Coast Guard. The count dropped from 710 in 2006 to 688 in 2007, the lowest figure since 2004 and third lowest since the Coast Guard began collecting statistics specifically related to recreational boating.    » read more »

Study urges countries to further cut red tape and barriers to entrepreneurs

BRUSSELS, May 14, 2008 — Big gains in the productivity of workers in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the past decade have helped boost growth and living standards, but more must be done to eliminate red tape and barriers to enable firms to become more productive in a rapidly globalizing world, says a new World Bank report.    » read more »

April 18, 2008 -- State Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman announced that the preliminary seasonally-adjusted March unemployment rate for Maine was 5.1 percent, equal to the national March rate of 5.1 percent.

“The Maine and national unemployment rates moved upward in March, both rising from 4.8 percent for February to 5.1 percent for March,” said Commissioner Fortman.

Sunrise at Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine: Photo by Ian Britton (CC)

“Labor market trends in Maine are mirroring national trends; unemployment is rising as economic activity slows.”    » read more »

Geneva, Switzerland, 9 April 2008 - Denmark is the most networked economy in the world, followed by Sweden and Switzerland, according to The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008, released today by the World Economic Forum. Among the top ten, the Republic of Korea (9) and, to a lesser extent, the United States (4) post the most notable improvements (moving up 10 and 3 positions, respectively).

World Economic Forum Networked Readiness Index 2007-2008    » read more »

April 07, 2008 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. — Unemployment rates fell in 99 Kentucky counties between February 2007 and February 2008, rose in 18 counties and remained the same in three counties, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training, an agency of the Education Cabinet.

Woodford County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the commonwealth at 4.3 percent. Other counties with low unemployment rates were Fayette County, 4.5 percent; Warren County, 4.8 percent; Oldham County, 4.9 percent; Boone County, 5 percent; Madison and Scott counties, 5.1 percent each; Jessamine and Shelby counties, 5.2 percent each; and Campbell County, 5.3 percent.    » read more »

April 02, 2008 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for February 2008 remained at January 2008’s revised 5.2 percent level, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education Cabinet. February 2007’s jobless rate was 5.7 percent.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell from 4.9 percent in January 2008 to 4.8 percent in February 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working.    » read more »

Drop across the board in violent and non-violent categories

April 1, 2008 -- Trenton, N.J. – New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram today released the New Jersey Uniform Crime Report for the first six months of 2007 which shows the state crime index decreased 7 percent for the six-month period January through June 2007, compared to the first six months of 2006.

The index decreased for all categories of violent and non-violent offenses, with the number of murders reported was just one fewer: 184 in the 2007 period, compared to 185 in the first six months of 2006. There were 196 reported murders in the first half of 2005.    » read more »

March 26, 2008 -- Washington – Despite declining gasoline consumption, high inventory levels and increased production of ethanol, America’s gasoline consumers continue to face escalating prices at the pump, according to a new report released today by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

“For half a decade the major oil companies have exercised their market power,” said Dr. Mark Cooper, research director of CFA and author of the report. “In response to record high prices, consumers are cutting their consumption and lower priced alternatives, like ethanol are expanding supplies. But these market responses are being counteracted by high crude prices driven up by speculators and reduced oil company refinery runs."    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

March 20, 2008 -- In the week ending March 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 378,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 356,000. The 4-week moving average was 365,250, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average of 359,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending March 8, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.1 percent.    » read more »