Thursday, January 28, 2016

Internet Publishing Industry Revenue Reached $110 Billion in 2014


SAS Graphic
Service Annual Survey Provides Comprehensive Statistics on Service Industries in U.S. Economy
Jan. 28, 2016 — Revenue for Internet publishing and broadcasting and Web search portal (NAICS 519130) employer firms increased 13.1 percent to $109.6 billion between 2013 and 2014. These information sector firms are primarily engaged in publishing and/or broadcasting content on the Internet exclusively or in operating websites that use a search engine to generate and maintain extensive databases of Internet addresses and content in an easily searchable format. Revenue among wireless telecommunications carriers (NAICS 517210) – another industry in the information sector – grew 8.0 percent between 2013 and 2014 to $251.8 billion.
All in all, information sector (NAICS 51) revenue increased 5.3 percent to $1.4 trillion for employer and nonemployer firms. This sector is primarily comprised of publishing industries, including software and Internet publishing, motion picture and sound recording, broadcasting and telecommunications.  
These revenue data come from the Service Annual Survey, which provides the most comprehensive national statistics available each year on service industry activity in the United States.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Census Bureau Releases First 2012 Economic Census Product Lines Reports

The Census Bureau today released the first product lines reports from its 2012 Economic Census Subject Series. These reports present national and state-level data at the two through six- or seven-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) level. They provide statistics on number of establishments and sales/receipts/revenue by products and contributing industry. Reports were released for the following four sectors:
·        Retail Trade — This is the first report in the subject series for this sector. Presents data down to the six-digit NAICS level. The retail trade subject and summary series reports will be released on a flow basis through March 2016 on topics ranging from product lines to class of customer.
·        Utilities  This is the first report in the subject series for this sector. Presents data down to the six-digit NAICS level. The utilities sector subject and summary series reports will be released on a flow basis through June 2016 on topics ranging from product lines to construction activity.
·        Transportation and Warehousing — This is the first report in the subject series for this sector. Presents data down to the seven-digit NAICS level. The transportation and warehousing subject and summary series reports will be released on a flow basis through June 2016 on topics ranging from product lines to end of year inventories.
·        Accommodations and Food Services  Presents data down to the seven-digit NAICS level. The accommodations and food services subject and summary series reports will be released on a flow basis through June 2016 on topics ranging from product lines to average cost per meal.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Reasons people give for not being in the labor force, 2004 and 2014

People who are neither working nor looking for work are counted as “not in the labor force.” The proportion of the civilian working-age population who were in this group increased from 31.3 percent in 2004 to 35.0 percent in 2014. Over that 10-year period, the proportion of people who reported retirement as the main reason they were not working increased from 13.9 percent to 15.4 percent.

The proportion of the working-age population reporting school attendance as the main reason for being out of the labor force rose from 5.0 percent in 2004 to 6.4 percent in 2014. The percentage who cited illness or disability as the main reason increased from 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent over that same period. The proportion citing home responsibilities declined from 6.0 percent in 2004 to 5.4 percent in 2014.

More from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Travel Warning: Protect Yourself from Zika Virus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health travel alert for people traveling to or from countries and regions where Zika virus is spreading. The list includes:
Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname, and Venezuela. 

There have been no reports of locally-transmitted cases within the United States, but infected travelers have returned to the U.S. from these regions.

Zika virus is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes. The resulting disease is usually mild and does not require hospitalization, but may cause birth defects in babies whose mothers were infected while pregnant. There is no vaccine to prevent or drugs to treat it, but if you have to travel to the affected regions, you can follow these recommendations to avoid mosquito bites that transmit Zika virus and other diseases.

Find more information on the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Zika virus.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Old music is outselling new music for the first time in history

Despite the massive success of Adele's album 25, which sold a whopping 7.4 million copies in only six weeks, 2015 marked the first time in U.S. history that new releases were outsold by catalogue albums. Seems like everyone's been feeling extra nostalgic lately.

The term "catalogue" refers to albums released more than 18 months ago. According to Nielsen's annual year end music report, catalogue albums outsold current releases by 4.3 million copies, something never before seen in the industry. Just 10 years ago, current music sales outpaced catalogue music by over 150 million albums. Keep in mind that these stats don't include album streams, but regardless, it's a significant turning point.

More from Chart Attack

Thursday, January 21, 2016

The sky is falling on print newspapers faster than you think

Last October, a McKinsey report declared, “We believe that many of the people likely to abandon print newspapers and print consumer magazines have already done so…. We believe most of this core audience — households that have retained their print subscriptions despite having access to broadband — will continue to do so for now, effectively putting a floor on the print markets.”

Is the only medium-term threat to print the fact that most of its current audience will gradually die over the next 30 years? That would be great news, especially because nearly all newspapers still get most of their revenue from print advertising.

But it doesn’t feel right in a world in which even mature adults’ media consumption habits seem to be quickly evolving.

More from Medium.com

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

2015 Was Hottest Year in Recorded History

From the New York Times:

Scientists reported Wednesday that 2015 was the hottest year in recorded history by far, breaking a record set only the year before — a burst of heat that has continued into the new year and is roiling weather patterns all over the world.

In the continental United States, the year was the second-warmest on record, punctuated by a December that was both the hottest and the wettest since record-keeping began. One result has been a wave of unusual winter floods coursing down the Mississippi River watershed.

Scientists started predicting a global temperature record months ago, in part because an El NiƱo weather pattern, one of the largest in a century, is dumping an immense amount of heat from the Pacific Ocean into the atmosphere. But the bulk of the record-setting heat, they say, is a consequence of the long-term planetary warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases.

Monday, January 18, 2016

For Better Relationships, Know Your Deal Breakers

What’s your relationship deal breaker? Bad manners? Selfishness? Someone who refers to herself using the “royal we”?

Most folks will admit to having a list of specific negative qualities that make them reconsider a relationship with a potential mate. But now new research shows that people give more weight to these deal breakers than they do to the deal makers, or positive qualities, they hope to find in a person.

Think of it as the relationship version of the economic loss-aversion theory, which holds that people prioritize avoiding risk over acquiring gains. In mating, people pay more attention to what’s wrong with a would-be partner than what is right.

In a series of six studies published together online in October in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, researchers... discovered that women have more deal breakers than men.

More from the Wall Street Journal.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Auckland, New Zealand is more diverse than London and New York

From the New Zealand Herald:

Auckland is one of the world's most culturally diverse cities with the fourth most foreign-born population, an international study has found.

With 39 per cent of its population born overseas, the city is revealed to be more diverse than Sydney, Los Angeles, London and even New York.

The 2015 World Migration Report from the International Organisation for Migration looks at how international migrants and migration were shaping cities.

Only Dubai, Brussels, where foreign born residents outnumber local born, and Toronto are ranked as cities with more overseas-born people than Auckland.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Spatial Distribution of Net International Migration


This map shows the states' share of the estimated U.S. net international migration for the period 2010-15, which may be of some use in your accumulated knowledge about migrants. Note this is from the cumulative total table 4 of the Population Estimates Vintage 2015.

Note that the four states with the largest population are also the four states with the largest share of immigrants.

The map was designed by Joe Douglas Francis at Cornell University.



Friday, January 8, 2016

First 2012 Economic Census Subject Series Reports for Three Sectors

The Census Bureau today released the first three reports from its 2012 Economic Census Subject Series on establishment and firm size. These reports also represent the first Subject Series reports for three sectors. These reports present national data at the two through seven-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) level for both establishments and firms. They contain statistics on receipts/revenue/sales, payroll, and employment by various categories. 
For establishments, the categories are receipts/revenue/sales size, employment size, and legal form of organization. For firms, the categories are receipts/revenue/sales size, employment size, concentration by largest firms, and number of establishments operated (single units and multiunits).
A separate report was released for each of the following sectors:
—  Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services  Reports for this sector will be released on a flow basis through June 2016. The topics will range from product lines to class of customer.
 Information  Reports for this sector will be released on a flow basis through June 2016. The topics will range from product lines to exported services.
 Accommodation and Food Services — Reports for this sector will be released on a flow basis through March 2016. The topics will range from product lines to average cost per meal.
The 2012 Economic Census Manufacturing Summary and Subject Series concluded in August 2015,which represented the first reports in the Subject Series. These reports included data on materials, products, location of plants, and concentration ratios.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Tracking Income Equity: Use of the Gini Index 2006-2014

With the ACS, income inequity can now been seen longitudinally. The main measure of income inequality available through the census is the use of the Gini Index. The Gini Index is a summary measure of income inequality. As an index, it only has a value of between 0 and 1. A value of "0" would mean that every household had the same exact income; a value of "1" would mean that income was concentrated solely in a single household.

The index does NOT speak about the absolute levels of income - in other words, it doesn't measure how much income exists in a household. It measures the relative distribution of income across all households in an area. So when one area has a higher Gini index than another, nothing can be said about the income levels between the areas. Rather, it would tell you about the distribution of incomes within both areas.

That being understood, what are the regional, state and nation Gini levels over the last decade or so?


More from Herkimer and Oneida Counties Census Data Affiliate

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

New Area Code — 332 — for Manhattan Announced

The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced on December 1, 2015 that a new area code has been assigned to Manhattan. The new area code — 332 — is needed to meet the increasing demand for residential and business phone numbers in Manhattan. The telephone companies are required to file an implementation plan by mid-January. It is expected that the new area code will be assigned to new telephone customers starting in the second quarter of 2017.

“The need for a new area code points to a thriving telecommunications market and growing population overall in New York City,” said Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman. “Creating a new area
code will allow telephone companies to accommodate consumer demand and expand the use of wireless technologies.”

Monday, January 4, 2016

Orthodox Union Certifies Medical Marijuana Products, Deem Their Use a ‘Mitzvah’

In July 2014, five companies were awarded licenses by the New York State Health Department to grow and sell marijuana in the state, and in New York City. One of them, a Minneapolis-based company called Vireo Health, which produces “pharmaceutical-grade cannabis-derived medicine,” announced Wednesday that all of its products had received kosher certification from the Orthodox Union. Vireo’s pot products—intended by law for use by patients who suffer from a variety of serious illnesses, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and HIV/AIDS, among many others—are apparently the first to have the “OU” trademark attached to it.

That kief, intended to alleviate pain and suffering? It’s kosher. Apparently it’s a mitzvah, too.

More from Tablet magazazine.