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2012 was warmest and second most extreme year on record for the contiguous U.S.
2012 was warmest and second most extreme year on record for the contiguous U.S.
Source: NOAA
2012 marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States with the year consisting of a record warm spring, second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn. The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3°F, 3.2°F above the 20th century average, and 1.0°F above 1998, the previous warmest year.
The average precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. for 2012 was 26.57 inches, 2.57 inches below average, making it the 15th driest year on record for the nation. At its peak in July, the drought of 2012 engulfed 61 percent of the nation with the Mountain West, Great Plains, and Midwest experiencing the most intense drought conditions. The dry conditions proved ideal for wildfires in the West, charring 9.2 million acres — the third highest on record.
The U.S. Climate Extremes Index indicated that 2012 was the second most extreme year on record for the nation. The index, which evaluates extremes in temperature and precipitation, as well as landfalling tropical cyclones, was nearly twice the average value and second only to 1998. To date, 2012 has seen 11 disasters that have reached the $1 billion threshold in losses, to include Sandy, Isaac, and tornado outbreaks experienced in the Great Plains, Texas and Southeast/Ohio Valley.
Busy 2012 hurricane season continues decades-long high activity era in the Atlantic
Busy 2012 hurricane season continues decades-long high activity era in the Atlantic
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
November 30 marks the end of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season, one that produced 19 named storms, of which 10 became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane. The number of named storms is well above the average of 12. The number of hurricanes is also above the average of six, but the number of major hurricanes is below the average of three.
Based on the combined number, intensity, and duration of all tropical storms and hurricanes, NOAA classifies the season as above-normal. 2012 was an active year, but not exceptionally so as there were 10 busier years in the last three decades.
This season marks the second consecutive year that the mid-Atlantic and Northeast suffered devastating impacts from a named storm. Sandy, and Irene last year, caused fatalities, injuries, and tremendous destruction from coastal storm surge, heavy rainfall, inland flooding, and wind. Storms struck many parts of the country this year, including tropical storms Beryl and Debby in Florida, Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana, and Post-tropical Cyclone Sandy in New Jersey.
Census Bureau Reports Increased State Government Revenues and General Expenditures for 2011
Census Bureau Reports Increased State Government Revenues and General Expenditures for 2011
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Total state government revenue increased to $2.3 trillion in 2011, up 11.3 percent from $2.0 trillion in 2010, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Total state government revenue includes general revenues (mainly tax revenue), utility revenue, liquor store revenue and insurance trust revenue. General revenues were $1.7 trillion in 2011, a 5.7 percent increase from 2010. General expenditures by state governments rose 3.7 percent in 2011 to $1.7 trillion.
The findings are from the 2011 Annual Survey of State Government Finances, which shows revenues, expenditures, debt, and cash and security holdings for each state as well as a national summary of state government finances.
The increase in state government revenue in 2011 was mainly because of a $141.0 billion increase in social insurance trust revenue. Social insurance trust revenue includes employee retirement investments, which had gains in 2011. There was also an increase in tax revenue as government taxes collected in 2011 ($757.9 billion) grew 8.0 percent over 2010 ($701.7 billion) and accounted for 45.9 percent of general revenue.
Expenditures for education ($592.3 billion), public welfare ($496.8 billion) and health and hospitals ($125.7 billion) represented the top three expenditures in state government budgets.
State government budgets depend mostly on revenue from general sources: taxes, federal grants, service charges and other miscellaneous revenues. General revenues fund most state programs and in general comprise the bulk of state government revenue (72.9 percent in 2011).
Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters
Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters
Source: International Trade Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce)
Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters is designed to help U.S. companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, learn the basics of trade finance so that they can turn their export opportunities into actual sales and achieve the ultimate goal of getting paid—especially on time—for those sales. Concise, two-page chapters offer the basics of numerous financing techniques, from open accounts, to forfaiting, to government assisted foreign-buyer financing.
The current edition of the Trade Finance Guide was published in November 2012.
Facts for Features: Thanksgiving Day: Nov. 22, 2012
Facts for Features: Thanksgiving Day: Nov. 22, 2012
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, early settlers of Plymouth Colony, held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest, an event many regard as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. Historians have also recorded ceremonies of thanks among other groups of European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Virginia in 1619. The legacy of thanks and the feast have survived the centuries, as the event became a national holiday in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that Thanksgiving should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month to encourage earlier holiday shopping, never on the occasional fifth Thursday.
American Householders are Getting Older, Census Bureau Reports
American Householders are Getting Older, Census Bureau Reports
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the percentage of households headed by older adults has grown significantly over the last half century. The share of householders age 75 and older grew from 6 percent in 1960 to 10 percent in 2012.
In 1960, 32 percent of all households in the country were headed by 30- to 44-year-olds (see Figure 1). However, by 2012, the percentage of these households had fallen to 26 percent, after peaking at 34 percent in 1990. The share of households headed by older adults expanded as the number of 45- to 64-year-old householders shrank in the 1980s and 1990s but began growing again in 2000. These households now make up 39 percent of households in 2012.
These statistics come from America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012, a series of tables from the 2012 Current Population Survey. The tables provide a look at the socio-economic characteristics of families and households at the national level. A series of 13 graphs showing historical trends are also available with these estimates.
“These changes are related to baby boomers, that large segment of the American population born between 1946 and 1964,” said Jonathan Vespa, a demographer with the Census Bureau’s Fertility and Family Statistics Branch. “As they moved through young adulthood to middle age, and now into older adulthood, we can see an accordion-like effect on the age groups as they expand and shrink.”
A large proportion of older householders live alone (see Figure 2). In 2012, more than half of householders 75 and older lived alone, compared with almost a quarter of householders under age 30.
Census Bureau Releases 2009-2011 American Community Survey Estimates; Also Releasing Two Briefs on Marital Events of Group Quarters Population and Multigenerational Households
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau today released the latest findings from the American Community Survey, the primary source of small-area estimates available on a wide range of important statistics about people and housing for every community across the country and in Puerto Rico. The estimates released today cover a three-year period from 2009 to 2011 and are available for areas with a population of 20,000 or more.
In addition, the Census Bureau is releasing two briefs based on these new estimates, focusing on subpopulations better measured using the larger three-year sample of data files. One brief covers recent marital events in group quarters (military quarters, adult correctional facilities and nursing facilities) and the other is about multigenerational households (three or more generations living together).
"The American Community Survey estimates provide timely local demographic, economic, social and housing statistics for small communities across the country and in Puerto Rico to a wide range of users," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau’s acting director. "The results are used by everyone from retailers and homebuilders to town and city planners. The statistics are indispensable to anyone who has to make decisions in the communities."
Since the first census in 1790, conducted under the direction of Thomas Jefferson, census questions have collected information on the demographic characteristics of the nation’s people.
The survey is the primary source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as education, income, poverty, occupation, language, nativity, ancestry and homeownership.
Census Bureau Reports Foreign-Born from Asia Likelier to be Married and to Live in Multigenerational Households
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
In 2011, the foreign-born from Asia were more likely to be married compared with the total foreign-born and native-born. Households with a householder born in Asia were also more likely to be multigenerational, according to statistics from the 2011 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The percentage of foreign-born from Asia who were married was higher (65.8 percent) than for all foreign-born (58.3 percent) or for native-born (46.5 percent). In addition, multigenerational households — three or more generations living together — were more common among households with a householder born in Asia (9.4 percent) than a native-born householder (4.9 percent). Among major country-of-birth groups from Asia, households with a householder born in the Philippines (14.8 percent) or in Vietnam (12.3 percent) were the most likely to be multigenerational.
The metro areas with the largest foreign-born populations from Asia were Los Angeles and New York, both with more than 1.5 million, followed by San Francisco (707,000), Chicago (439,000) and Washington (432,000). (See graphs). (The totals for Chicago and Washington are not statistically different from one another).
In 2011, about 13 percent of the 311.6 million people living in the United States were foreign-born, including 11.6 million from Asia, accounting for more than one-fourth (29 percent) of all foreign-born.
2010 Census Shows Multiple-Race Population Grew Faster Than Single-Race Population
2010 Census Shows Multiple-Race Population Grew Faster Than Single-Race Population
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The 2010 Census showed that people who reported multiple races grew by a larger percentage than those reporting a single race. According to the 2010 Census brief The Two or More Races Population: 2010, the population reporting multiple races (9.0 million) grew by 32.0 percent from 2000 to 2010, compared with those who reported a single race, which grew by 9.2 percent.
Overall, the total U.S. population increased by 9.7 percent since 2000, however, many multiple-race groups increased by 50 percent or more.
The first time in U.S. history that people were presented with the option to self-identify with more than one race came on the 2000 Census questionnaire. Therefore, the examination of data from the 2000 and 2010 censuses provides the first comparisons on multiple-race combinations in the United States. An effective way to compare the multiple-race data is to examine changes in specific combinations, such as white and black, white and Asian, or black and Asian.
Populations Increasing in Many Downtowns, Census Bureau Reports
Populations Increasing in Many Downtowns, Census Bureau Reports
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
A U.S. Census Bureau report released today shows that in many of the largest cities of the most-populous metro areas, downtown is becoming a place not only to work but also to live. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, metro areas with 5 million or more people experienced double-digit population growth rates within their downtown areas (within a two-mile radius of their largest city’s city hall), more than double the rate of these areas overall.
Chicago experienced the largest numeric gain in its downtown area, with a net increase of 48,000 residents over 10 years. New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Washington also posted large population increases close to city hall. These downtown gains were not universal, however: New Orleans and Baltimore experienced the greatest population declines in their downtown areas (35,000 and slightly more than 10,000, respectively). Two smaller areas in Ohio — Dayton and Toledo — also saw downtown declines of more than 10,000.
These are just some of the findings in the new 2010 Census special report, Patterns of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Population Change: 2000 to 2010. The report uses 2010 Census results to examine contemporary geographic patterns (as well as changes since the 2000 Census) of population density and distribution by race, Hispanic origin, age and sex for metro and micro areas collectively as well as individually. Metro areas contain at least one urbanized area of 50,000 population or more, while micro areas contain at least one urban cluster of less than 50,000, but at least 10,000.
Census Bureau Releases Report on 2010 Census Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population
Census Bureau Releases Report on 2010 Census Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau today released a 2010 Census special report, The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2010, providing information on people counted at emergency and transitional shelters (with sleeping facilities) for people experiencing homelessness.
In the 2010 Census, emergency and transitional shelters were defined as places where people experiencing homelessness stay overnight. Examples include missions; hotels and motels used to shelter people experiencing homelessness; shelters for children who are runaways, neglected or experiencing homelessness; and similar places known to shelter people experiencing homelessness.
The emergency and transitional shelter population is one of many types that make up the total group quarters population. People in emergency and transitional shelters were enumerated in the 2010 Census as part of the Service-Based Enumeration Operation, which also included enumeration at soup kitchens, regularly scheduled mobile food vans and targeted nonsheltered outdoor locations.
The Census Bureau stresses that this special report presents statistics for people enumerated at emergency and transitional shelters only, and should not be misconstrued as a count of the entire population experiencing homelessness. The Census Bureau does not produce or publish a total count of the homeless population. Further, it is important to recognize that there is no standard or agreed upon definition of what constitutes homelessness. Also, people experiencing homelessness can be counted and included in the census through various operations, but those operations do not separately identify, or even collect information to separately identify, people who might be experiencing homelessness.
Census Bureau Releases 2011 American Community Survey Estimates
Census Bureau Releases 2011 American Community Survey Estimates
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau today released findings from the 2011 American Community Survey. The survey provides a wide range of important statistics about our nation’s people, housing and economy for all communities in the country. The results are used by everyone from retailers, homebuilders and police departments, to town and city planners. The survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as educational attainment, occupation, language spoken at home, nativity, ancestry and selected monthly homeowner costs down to the smallest communities.
On Sept. 12, the Census Bureau released national statistics on 2011 income, poverty and health insurance coverage from the Current Population Survey. The American Community Survey includes 2011 statistics for states, cities and smaller areas.
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The estimates released today are available in detailed tables for the nation, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, every congressional district, every metropolitan area, and all counties and places with populations of 65,000 or more. See the Census Bureau’s American FactFinder database to find statistics for your area.Also released today were three short reports supplementing detailed tables with additional analysis on three key topics: income, poverty and health insurance.
DOC OIG — Testimony on Mismanagement of Funds at the National Weather Service and the Impact on the Future of Weather Forecasting
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today about the Department of Commerce’s response to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service’s (NWS’) mismanagement of budgetary resources. Our testimony will address three areas:
1. Numerous whistleblower complaints, dating back to 2010, many of which have since been validated by multiple reviews of NWS financial mismanagement;
2. Separate Departmental and NOAA internal inquiries, resulting in both the Department and NOAA undertaking significant corrective action; and
3. Recent and current Office of Inspector General (OIG) follow-up reviews, to measure the sufficiency of the internal inquiries and the resulting corrective actions.
Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011
Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2011, median household income declined, the poverty rate was not statistically different from the previous year and the percentage of people without health insurance coverage decreased.
Real median household income in the United States in 2011 was $50,054, a 1.5 percent decline from the 2010 median and the second consecutive annual drop.
The nation’s official poverty rate in 2011 was 15.0 percent, with 46.2 million people in poverty. After three consecutive years of increases, neither the poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2010 estimates.
The number of people without health insurance coverage declined from 50.0 million in 2010 to 48.6 million in 2011, as did the percentage without coverage – from 16.3 percent in 2010 to 15.7 percent in 2011.
Strategic Roadmap for Fire Risk Reduction in Buildings and Communities
Strategic Roadmap for Fire Risk Reduction in Buildings and Communities
Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology
From press release:
The United States already has one of the highest direct fire loss rates among developed nations, and progress in reducing this tremendous burden is slowing.
Fires claim more than 3,000 lives a year, injure more than 90,000 firefighters and civilians, and impose costs and losses totaling more than $300 billion—equivalent to about 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.
Fire researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) believe that the devastating annual toll can be significantly reduced over the next two decades. Even better, they have a plan that prioritizes and details the research and other work needed to enable that goal.
Crafted with input from fire service organizations, standards and building-code developers, equipment manufacturers, insurers and others, NIST’s newly issued "strategic roadmap"* lays out a clear technological course for reducing the risk of fire in buildings and communities. It calls for tackling the nation’s fire problem on three fronts:
- Reducing fire hazards in buildings,
- Advancing firefighter technologies, and
- Reducing the risk of fire in communities bordering forests and "wildlands."
The new roadmap is NIST’s most comprehensive effort to establish fire-risk reduction goals for its programs since the influential America Burning report was published in the mid-1970s.
Facts for Features: Hispanic Heritage Month 2012: Sept. 15 — Oct. 15
Facts for Features: Hispanic Heritage Month 2012: Sept. 15 — Oct. 15
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
In September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, which was observed during the week that included Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. The observance was expanded in 1988 by Congress to a monthlong celebration (Sept. 15 — Oct. 15), effective the following year. America celebrates the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Sept. 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.
Census Bureau Reports There Are 89,004 Local Governments in the United States
Census Bureau Reports There Are 89,004 Local Governments in the United States
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau today released preliminary counts of local governments as the first component of the 2012 Census of Governments.
In 2012, 89,004 local governments existed in the United States, down from 89,476 in the last census of governments conducted in 2007. Local governments included 3,031 counties (down from 3,033 in 2007), 19,522 municipalities (up from 19,492 in 2007), 16,364 townships (down from 16,519 in 2007), 37,203 special districts (down from 37,381 in 2007) and 12,884 independent school districts (down from 13,051 in 2007).
Conducted every five years (for years ending in “2″ and “7″), the census of governments provides the only uniform source of statistics for all of the nation’s state and local governments. These statistics allow for in-depth trend analysis of all individual governments and provide a complete, comprehensive and authoritative benchmark of state and local government activity.
The census of governments measures three components: organization, employment and finance. These components provide statistics on the number of governments that exist, the services they provide, the number of their employees and their financial activity. In addition to the information provided for states, cities, counties and townships, the census of governments also provides information on special districts and school districts.
NOAA raises hurricane season prediction despite expected El Niño
NOAA raises hurricane season prediction despite expected El Niño
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This year’s Atlantic hurricane season got off to a busy start, with 6 named storms to date, and may have a busy second half, according to the updated hurricane season outlook issued today by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The updated outlook still indicates a 50 percent chance of a near-normal season, but increases the chance of an above-normal season to 35 percent and decreases the chance of a below-normal season to only 15 percent from the initial outlook issued in May.
Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the season – June 1 to November 30 – NOAA’s updated seasonal outlook projects a total (which includes the activity-to-date of tropical storms Alberto, Beryl, Debbie, Florence and hurricanes Chris and Ernesto) of:
- 12 to 17 named storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including:
- 5 to 8 hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which:
- 2 to 3 could be major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)
State of the Climate — July 2012: hottest month on record for contiguous United States
State of the Climate — July 2012: hottest month on record for contiguous United States
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, marking the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the nation. The previous warmest July for the nation was July 1936 when the average U.S. temperature was 77.4°F. The warm July temperatures contributed to a record-warm first seven months of the year and the warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since recordkeeping began in 1895.
Precipitation totals were mixed during July, with the contiguous U.S. as a whole being drier than average. The nationally averaged precipitation total of 2.57 inches was 0.19 inch below average. Near-record dry conditions were present for the middle of the nation, with the drought footprint expanding to cover nearly 63 percent of the Lower 48, according the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Participation in Government Programs, 2004 to 2007 and 2009 — Who Gets Assistance?
Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Participation in Government Programs, 2004 to 2007 and 2009 — Who Gets Assistance?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Almost 45 million people, or 18.6 percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population, participated in one or more major means-tested assistance programs each month in 2009. These statistics come from a new report that examines the participation and characteristics of people who received benefits from any of the major means-tested assistance programs including: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, General Assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Food Stamp, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid and Housing Assistance. The statistics come from the 2004 and 2008 Panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation and cover calendar years 2004 through 2007 and 2009. Internet address: <http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p70-130.pdf>
