Federal Spending Increased 4.4 Percent in 2007. (Released October 2, 2008)

New Orders for Manufactured Goods in August Decreased $18.6 Billion or 4.0 Percent to $444.4 Billion. (Released October 2, 2008)

Total Construction Activity for August 2008 ($1,072.1 Billion) Was Nearly the Same as the Revised July 2008 ($1,071.8 Billion). (Released October 1, 2008)

Profiles of Older Workers: 2004 - New Mexico. (Released September 29, 2008)

Facts for Features: Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 2008. (Released September 29, 2008)

Sales of New One-Family Houses in August 2008 Were at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 460,000. This Is 11.5 Percent Below the Revised July 2008 Estimate of 520,000. (Released September 25, 2008)

New Orders for Manufactured Durable Goods in August Decreased $9.9 Billion or 4.5 Percent to $208.5 Billion. (Released September 25, 2008)

One-in-Five Speak Spanish In Four States -- New Census Bureau Data Show How America Lives. (Released September 23, 2008)

Spanish Version -- One-in-Five Speak Spanish In Four States -- New Census Bureau Data Show How America Lives. (Released September 23, 2008)

New Census Bureau Data Provide a Portrait of the Puerto Rico Population. (Released September 23, 2008)

Spanish Version -- New Census Bureau Data Provide a Portrait of the Puerto Rico Population. (Released September 23, 2008)

Profiles of Older Workers: 2004 - Oregon. (Released September 23, 2008)

Retirement and disability payments to individuals accounted for $783 billion (more than 30 percent) of total federal spending in 2007. Of that amount, 80 percent, or $623 billion, went to Social Security recipients. Social Security was composed of retirement insurance payments ($369 billion), survivors insurance ($113 billion), disability insurance ($105 billion) and supplemental security income payments ($36 billion). You can find these and other highlights from the Consolidated Federal Funds Report: 2007 (PDF - 5.27 MB) on our web site.

Recently, all ACS data products for the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 were removed from the American FactFinder (AFF) and placed on a special FTP site. However, users reported problems with the files on this site, and the Census Bureau decided to pull this site down until the problems can be fixed. We expect to resolve the problems soon and will restore the FTP site.

In the meantime, for years 2002, 2003, and 2004, Detailed Tables, Profiles, and Ranking Tables are available for downloading on:

http://www2.census.gov/acs2002/
http://www2.census.gov/acs2003/
http://www2.census.gov/acs2004/

For years between 1999 and 2003, Profiles, Multiyear Profiles, and Change Profiles are available at links below. In addition, ranking tables for years 2003, 2002, 2001, and 2000 are also available on the ACS Website.

2003 Data Profiles
2003 Multiyear Profiles
2002 Data Profiles
2001-2002 Change Profiles
2000-2002 Change Profiles
2001 Data Profiles
2000-2001 Change Profiles
2000 Data Profiles

Population

School Enrollment in the United States: 2006 (PDF - 489 KB). Report describes the characteristics of the nation's 79 million students in 2006. This is the first school enrollment report from the Census Bureau to use data from both the Current Population Survey (on which previous reports have been based) and the American Community Survey. Incorporating these data result in new state-by-state comparisons of enrollment characteristics while preserving the historical comparisons of school enrollment.

Latest Economic Indicators

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufactures' Shipments and Orders: August 2008. Press
release showing advance information on key business indicators.

New Residential Sales: August 2008. Press release reporting new one-family houses sold and for sale. Includes sales prices, months on the market, and stage of construction.

Construction Spending (Put-in-Place): August 2008. Press release showing estimates of the value of total new construction put-in-place by type of construction (residential and non-residential), annual value, and by type of owner (private and public).

Manufacturer's Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: August 2008. Press release showing information on key business indicators. Shows revised durable goods totals, in addition to nondurable goods manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders.

Economic Census and Surveys

Older Worker Profiles. Reports (will be released for each of over 30 states) providing a detailed picture of workers 55 and older at the county and metropolitan area levels for 2004. Based on data from the Local Employment Dynamics program, the reports highlight the age of the states' work force, job gains, and losses, industries in which older workers are concentrated, job stability, and earnings. The following states are available as of the publish date of this newsletter:

• Iowa (PDF - 1.31 MB)


• Maine (PDF - 1.45 MB)


• Vermont (PDF - 762 KB)


• Indiana (PDF - 1.53 MB)


• Arkansas (PDF - 1.81 MB)


• Hawaii (PDF - 558 KB)


• Delaware (PDF - 464 KB)


• Colorado (PDF - 779 KB)


• Wisconsin (PDF - 766 KB)


• New Jersey (PDF - 800 KB)


• Maryland (PDF - 1.03 MB)


• Kentucky (PDF - 1.58 MB)


• Oklahoma (PDF - 696 KB)


• South Carolina (PDF - 1.34 MB)


• Montana (PDF - 1.03 MB)


• Oregon (PDF - 756 KB)


• New Mexico (PDF - 486 KB)

Government

Consolidated Federal Funds Report: 2007 (PDF - 5.27 MB) and Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 2007 (PDF - 3.65 MB). These two reports provide an overview of federal spending at the national, state and county levels. The data are obtained from federal agencies and describe spending for procurement contracts, salaries and wages, direct payments, loans and insurance, as well as federal grants to state and local governments.

Reference and Compendia

Facts for Features: Hispanic Heritage Month 2008: September 15 - October 15

Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week (September 21-27)

Facts for Features: Halloween (October 31)

Thanksgiving Day (November 27)

Population

What It's Worth: Field of Training and Economic Status: 2004. Series of tables from the Survey of Income and Program Participation examining the relationship between field of training and monthly earnings.

Housing

American Housing Survey: 2007. The American Housing Survey (AHS) is conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Collects data on the nation's housing, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant housing units, household characteristics, income, housing, neighborhood quality, and much more. National data are collected in odd numbered years, and data for each of 47 selected metropolitan areas are collected currently about every six years. Each metropolitan area sample covers 4,100 or more housing units. The AHS returns to the same housing units year after year to gather data; therefore, this survey is ideal for analyzing the flow of households through housing.

Small Area Health Insurance Estimates: 2005. Interactive tables, maps, and downloadable files containing estimates of health insurance coverage for all counties and states. Data are provided by age, sex and income at the county level and, in addition to these characteristics, by race and Hispanic origin at the state level. The estimates are based on models combining data from a variety of sources including the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, Census 2000, administrative records and population estimates.

Economic Indicators

Quarterly Financial Report for Retail Trade: 2nd Quarter 2008. Press release shows second quarter sales of large retail trade corporations. Includes large U.S. retailers' after-tax profits. Scheduled for release October 8, 2008

Monthly Wholesale Trade: August 2008. Press release showing estimates for sales, inventories on a non-LIFO ("last in-first out") basis, and stock-sales ratios for merchant wholesalers by three-digit major kind-of-business groups. Scheduled for release October 9, 2008.

US International Trade in Goods and Services: August 2008. Press release showing monthly exports, general imports (including data by country), and limited data on imports for consumption. Scheduled for release October 10, 2008.

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: September 2008. Press release presenting advance monthly estimates of retail store sales by kind-of-business groups. Report includes seasonally adjusted estimates and percentage changes for major kind-of-business groups. Scheduled for release October 15, 2008.

Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales: August 2008. Press release showing sales, inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratios for the combined domestic activities of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Scheduled for release October 15, 2008.

Economic Census and Surveys

2008 Capital Spending Report: U.S. Capital Spending Patterns, 1999-2006. A look at capital expenditure patterns from 1999 to 2006 reveals data about firms with and without employees, expenditures for structures and equipment, and expenditures for major industry sectors. The data comes from the Annual Capital Expenditures Survey.

Government

2007 State and Local Government Employees and Payroll. Internet tables and files available in PDF containing figures about the nation's 89,526 state and local governments. These will be the first comprehensive data from the 2007 Census of Governments. Local governments include counties, cities, townships, special districts and school districts.

Facts for Features

American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November). Presidents have signed proclamations to honor the nation's 4.5 million American Indian and Alaska Natives each year at this time. This group is younger and has larger families than the national population.

Veterans Day (Nov. 11). Parades and speeches across the country, as well as a national ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, highlight this federal holiday. Some of the statistics from this day include the number of veterans in the country, their racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the number who vote.