The Five Youngest Occupations, 2011

The median age of all employed workers in 2011 was 42.1 years. But some workers are much younger than others. Here is the median age of workers in the five occupations with the youngest median age...

21.4 years: Hosts and hostesses, restaurant

21.4 years: Counter attendants, cafeteria and food concession

21.8 years: Lifeguards

23.1 years: Motion picture projectionists

25.2 years: Ushers, lobby attendants, ticket takers

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished table from the 2011 Current Population Survey

Household Income Stable in February

Median household income was about the same in February as in January 2012, according to the latest monthly update from Sentier Research. February's $50,065 median was 0.4 percent lower than the January 2012 median ($50,241), after adjusting for inflation. The change  was not statistically significant.  

February's median household income was 5.7 percent lower than the median in June 2009--the supposed end of the Great Recession. It was 8.1 percent lower than the median in December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. It was 9.0 percent lower than the median in January 2000. The Household Income Index for February 2012 was 91.0 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: February 2012 

Housing Stock: Year Built

Despite the flurry of construction during the housing bubble, the percentage of the nation's 132 million housing units that were built between 2000 and 2010 is only slightly greater than the percentage built during the 1980s and 1990s. Take a look at the distribution of the nation's housing units by the decade they were built...

2000s: 14.8%
1990s: 13.9%
1980s: 14.0%
1970s: 16.0%
1960s: 11.1%
1950s: 10.9%
earlier: 19.2%

Source: Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey

Part-Time Workers Get No Respect

Percentage of part-time workers with health insurance through their own job: 17%.

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, Trends in Health Coverage for Part-Time Workers

Most and Least Religious States

There really is a Bible Belt, according to the findings of a Gallup survey on religion.

If you take a look at the states that are most religious, based on how people answer two questions (how important religion is in their lives and how often they attend religious services), they form a belt across the lower portion of the United States stretching from South Carolina to Texas. Gallup nicely provides a map, making it easy to see the belt.

In Mississippi, 59 percent of the population is very religious--more than in any other state. At the other extreme, only 23 percent of the populations of Vermont and New Hampshire are very religious. State differences in religiosity are due to "state culture" more than demographics. Says Gallup: "It appears there is something about the culture and normative structure of a state, no doubt based partly on that state's history, that affects its residents' propensity to attend religious services and to declare that religion is important in their daily lives."

Source: Gallup, Mississippi Is Most Religious U.S. State

Census Bureau Hits and Misses

Following the census, the Census Bureau evaluates its population estimates, comparing its estimates with census counts. Overall, the total population estimate for April 1, 2010, missed the census count by a scant 0.1 percent. The estimate was short by just 259,054 people out of 308,745,538. That's a pretty impressive hit for the estimates program, which uses administrative records of births, deaths, and migration to determine not only the total population, but also the population of states and counties.

By state, the estimates differed from 2010 census counts by less than 1 percent in 33 states. The biggest underestimate was in Hawaii. The 2010 census counted 4.7 percent more people (63,416) in Hawaii than the bureau had estimated. The biggest overestimate was in Arizona. The 2010 census counted 4.1 percent fewer people (262,341) in Arizona than had been estimated.

Source: Census Bureau, Evaluation Estimates

Interest in Cars

How can American businesses be so dumb? Don't they ever pull their head out of their niche to take a look around? Apparently not, which is why so many businesses have allowed their customers to be sweet talked into spending all their money somewhere else.

The latest example: Car manufacturers are bemoaning the fact that young adults have "lost interest" in cars, according to the New York Times. To think that young adults have lost interest in cars is a failure to understand the market. Young adults are spending their money elsewhere not because they have lost interest in cars, but because they have gained interest (payments) on student loans all the while coping with double-digit unemployment rates.

The decline in overall vehicle spending among young adults has been stunning. In 1984 (the earliest data available), householders under age 25 devoted a hefty 24 percent of their expenditures to vehicles and vehicle expenses, according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey. By 2010, the figure had fallen to 16 percent. Spending by young adults on new cars has collapsed. In 2010, the average householder under age 25 spent only $393 on new cars, down from $1,114 in 1984 after adjusting for inflation.

It is no coincidence that the additional dollars the average young adult has had to devote to education (up by $710 between 1984 and 2010, after adjusting for inflation) is almost identical to the dollars they no longer spend on new cars ($721).

Urban Population Up 12 Percent

Although Americans tend to think of themselves as small town or even rural in character, a look at the Census Bureau's newly released classification of urban and rural populations based on 2010 census data shows how wrong they are.

In 2010, fully 80.7 percent of Americans lived in an urban area. Not only are most Americans urban dwellers, but the urban population is growing faster than the rural population. Between 2000 and 2010, the urban population grew 12.1 percent, more than the 9.7 percent national growth rate and far outpacing the 7.3 percent increase in the rural population.

Many people use the terms urban and metropolitan interchangeably. In fact, urban is a much more precise definition of city life. Metropolitan areas are broad brush, comprised of groups of counties, many of which contain rural areas. In contrast, urban areas are a far higher resolution of lifestyle, comprised of census tracts or blocks that are home to at least 2,500 people. Once the Census Bureau defines urban areas (which it does every 10 years), rural areas are the remainder.

Urban dwellers are less than 50 percent of the population in only four states: Mississippi, West Virginia, Vermont, and Maine. Despite our overwhelming urbanity, many Americans continue to think--and act--rural. That may be because 97 percent of the nation's land area is rural. Only 3 percent is urban. But 249 million Americans now live in that 3 percent.

Source: Census Bureau, 2010 Census Urban and Rural Classification and Urban Area Criteria

The Five Oldest Occupations, 2011

The median age of all employed workers in 2011 was 42.1 years. But some workers are much older than others. Here is the median age of workers in the five occupations with the oldest median age...

59.8 years: Desktop publishers
58.6 years: Embalmers and funeral attendants
57.4 years: Buyers and purchasing agents, farm products
56.0 years: Mine shuttle car operators
55.9 years: Farmers and ranchers

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished table from the 2011 Current Population Survey

Unauthorized Immigrants: 11.5 Million

The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States changed little between 2010 and 2011, according to new estimates by the Department of Homeland Security.

As of January 2011, there were an estimated 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the country, about the same as the 11.6 million in January 2010 (this figure has been revised upward from 10.8 million based on 2010 census weights). The number of unauthorized immigrants grew 36 percent between 2000 and 2011, from 8,460,000 to 11,510,000.

The 10 states with the largest number of unauthorized immigrants in 2011 were...
California: 2,830,000
Texas: 1,790,000
Florida: 740,000
New York: 630,000
Illinois: 550,000
Georgia: 440,000
New Jersey: 420,000
North Carolina: 400,000
Arizona: 360,000
Washington: 260,000

Since 2000, the number of unauthorized immigrants has grown in each of the above states except one. Florida's unauthorized immigrant population fell by 10,000 between 2000 and 2011.

Source: Department of Homeland Security, Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2011

The Mystery of a Successful Marriage

What are the ingredients of a successful marriage? According to a new report from the National Survey of Family Growth, one of the most important ingredients, for women at least, is a college degree. Nothing guarantees a successful (i.e. long-lasting) marriage more than having a bachelor's degree. Take a look at the percentage of women whose first marriage has lasted for 20 years, by educational attainment...

Not a high school graduate: 39%
High school diploma/GED: 41%
Some college, no degree: 49%
Bachelor's degree: 78%

The relationship between educational attainment and marital success is weaker for men, but still important. The percentage of men whose first marriage has lasted for 20 years ranges from a low of 47 percent among men with no more than a high school diploma to a high of 65 percent among men with a bachelor's degree.

The answer to this mystery is obvious, and it has nothing to do with love and everything to do with money. Increasingly, and almost exclusively, economic success accrues to men with a bachelor's degree. Women who graduate from college are far more likely than less-educated women to meet and marry a man with a college degree. Money, and men's ability to earn it, is the most important ingredient of a successful marriage.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, First Marriages in the United States: Data from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth

African Americans and the Great Recession

Black workers have been especially hurt by the Great Recession and the weak economic recovery. The black unemployment rate was 15.8 percent in 2011 compared with 7.9 percent for whites and 11.5 percent for Hispanics.

The question is, why have blacks been hit so hard? A new study by the Department of Labor has the answers. First, blacks have been disproportionately affected by what the report characterizes as "drastic layoffs in government." Blacks are 30 percent more likely than non-blacks to work in the public sector. Nearly one in five blacks (19.3 percent) works for federal, state, or local government versus 14 percent of whites and 10 percent of Hispanics.

Second, once unemployed, it has been more difficult for blacks to find another job because they are more likely to live in areas with relatively high unemployment rates. Fully 63 percent of unemployed blacks versus 39 percent of unemployed non-blacks live in areas with an unemployment rate of 10 percent or more. That explains why blacks are more likely than whites or Hispanics to have been out of work for 27 weeks or more (defined as the long-term unemployed). Nearly half of unemployed blacks (49.5 percent) are long-term unemployed versus 42 percent of whites and 40 percent of Hispanics.

That explains the bad news. The good news is that the worst may be over for black workers. The number of employed blacks grew by 700,000 between January 2011 and January 2012.

Source: Department of Labor, The African-American Labor Force in Recovery

Finding Work in Retirement

Seventy percent of workers say they plan to work for pay after they retire, according to the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey. Interestingly, however, many wonder whether they will be able to find a job. Only 28 percent of workers are "very confident" of their employability.

Retirees themselves offer a more realistic look at the odds of working in retirement. Only 27 percent of retirees say they have worked for pay since retirement. When asked how confident they are in their ability to find a job if necessary, only 9 percent feel "very confident." The 54 percent majority of retirees are not at all confident they could find a job.

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey

Asians by Ethnic Group, 2010

Of the 17.3 million people in the United States who identify themselves as Asian, these are the largest ethnic-origin groups and the percentage of Asians who identify the group as one of their origins (more than one group could be named)...

Chinese: 4.0 million (23.2%)
Filipino: 3.4 million (19.7%)
Asian Indian: 3.2 million (18.4%)
Vietnamese: 1.7 million (10.0%)
Korean: 1.7 million (9.9%)
Japanese: 1.3 million (7.5%)

Source: Census Bureau, The Asian Population: 2010

Fat Demographics

If you want the skinny on fat, check out Obesity in America: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutional Population Aged 20 and Older, 2009. The percentage of Americans who are overweight varies surprisingly little by demographic characteristic--meaning the great majority of just about everyone is overweight.

Overall, 65 percent of the population aged 20 or older is overweight (a figure that includes the obese). There is almost no demographic segment in which the number of people who are overweight does not greatly surpass the number with a healthy weight. In fact, there are only two demographic segments in which being overweight is not the norm. One segment is "non-Hispanic other/multiple races," a group that includes Asians (48% overweight). The other is the youngest age group, aged 20 to 24 (45% overweight).

Whether you are man (72% overweight) or woman (59%), black (72%) or white (65%), middle aged (71%) or old (67%), high school dropout (70%) or college graduate (60%), rich (64%) or poor (66%), chances are you're fat.

Decline in Teens Talking on the Phone

Percentage of teens (aged 12 to 17) who talk to friends daily on a...

Landline phone
2011: 14%
2009: 30%

Cell phone
2011: 26%
2009: 38%

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, Teens, Smartphones & Texting

Delaying Retirement

Percentage of workers aged 55 or older who expect to retire at age 66 or older...

2012: 51%
2002: 28%

Source: Employee Benefit Retirement Institute, 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey

Older Juries More Likely to Convict

An analysis of 700 felony trials in Florida from 2000 to 2010 shows that prosecutors prefer older jurors and are more likely to use their peremptory challenges to exclude younger people from a jury. Defense attorneys like younger jurors and are more likely to use their challenges to exclude older people from a jury. That's because older jurors are more likely to convict--even after controlling for race and gender, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research study.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, A Fair and Impartial Jury? The Role of Age in Jury Selection and Trial Outcomes, Working Paper #17887, $5

Prison Happy

Number of prisoners in state and federal correctional institutions
2010: 1,543,206
1970:    196,429

Rate of imprisonment per 100,000 population
2010: 497
1970:   96

Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online

Explaining High Unemployment Rates

In a few paragraphs and charts, a new analysis by Jonathan James of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland goes a long way toward explaining what ails us. James examines the unusually high unemployment rate today among young adults relative to the middle aged. Typically, young adults are more likely to be unemployed than the middle aged. But beginning with the Great Recession, the difference in the unemployment rates of the young and the middle aged grew by one-third. James wanted to figure out why young adults have been disproportionately affected by the Great Recession, and this is what he found...

• the abnormally high unemployment rate among young adults is mostly due to the increase in unemployment among young men with no more than a high school diploma. Their unemployment rate climbed from 9.5 percent in 2007 to more than 20 percent in 2011. 
• behind this high unemployment rate is the loss of construction jobs, which explains 80 percent of the increase in the unemployment rate of young men.

Because construction is the primary entry-level job for young men, "it is likely that these workers will continue to endure high levels of unemployment until construction jobs return," says James. Because two-thirds of wage growth occurs in the first ten years of a career, he warns: "Even if these jobs return, the effects of the recession during these formative years in what otherwise would have been a period of skill formation and productivity growth may continue to be felt throughout their careers."

Source: Federal Reserve  Bank of Cleveland, Starting Off on the Wrong Foot: Early Careers and High Unemployment