Statistics and Indicators

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 »

Washington, DC - 09/28/2009 - More than half of federal transportation spending in fiscal year (FY) 2008 was directed to programs that contain subsidies, according to Subsidyscope, an initiative of Pew’s Economic Policy Group. The analysis comes from a new comprehensive online database on all spending on subsidy programs in the transportation sector.

The project collected and aggregated data from USAspending.gov and other sources and built a searchable database of federal transportation spending; users can query by grant recipient, state, government program and many other parameters. The database includes information from 2000-2008.    » read more »

Variability Observed By Area, Race/Ethnicity, and Poverty Status; Survey provides first estimates of coverage at the state level and for selected local areas

September 17, 2009 -- Vaccine coverage rates for the nation’s preteens and teens are increasing, but nationally, rates remain low for the vaccines specifically recommended for preteens, according to 2008 estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

September 17, 2009 -- In the week ending Sept. 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 545,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 557,000. The 4-week moving average was 563,000, a decrease of 8,750 from the previous week's revised average of 571,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.7 percent for the week ending Sept. 5, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.    » read more »

September 14, 2009 -- According to figures released today by the FBI, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation declined for the second year in a row. Property crimes also declined in 2008, marking the sixth straight year the collective estimates for these offenses dropped below the previous year’s total.

The statistics show that the estimated volume of violent crimes declined 1.9 percent, and the estimated volume of property crimes decreased 0.8 percent in 2008 when compared with 2007 estimates. The 2008 violent crime rate was 454.5 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants (a 2.7 percent decrease from the 2007 rate), and the property crime rate was 3,212.5 per 100,000 persons (a 1.6 percent decrease from 2007).    » read more »

June 23, 2009 -- The world’s 65-and-older population is projected to triple by midcentury, from 516 million in 2009 to 1.53 billion in 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast, the population under 15 is expected to increase by only 6 percent during the same period, from 1.83 billion to 1.93 billion.

In the United States, the population 65 and older will more than double by 2050, rising from 39 million today to 89 million. While children are projected to still outnumber the older population worldwide in 2050, the under 15 population in the United States is expected to fall below the older population by that date, increasing from 62 million today to 85 million.    » read more »

But levels of optimism vary, Economist Intelligence Unit survey reveals

22 Jun 2009 -- For the first time since World War II, global GDP is expected to shrink this year. Worldwide consumption is down, stock markets have been hit, trade has slumped and employment has declined. But according to a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and sponsored by SAP, global business conditions are set to improve.    » read more »