APDU Weekly

Feature

Cuts to Fed Statistical Programs, Including BEA

As the budget gridlock continues in Washington DC, cuts have been made to data sets and a number of statistical agencies. The latest casualties were BEA, who eliminated their RIMS II data and reduced their industry detail on compensation and earnings from 108 industries to just 25, and USDA ERS, who announced their FY2014 budget levels, terminating several commodity newsletters and data products.

News

New Census App Helps Users Find Local Statistics on the Go
The U.S. Census Bureau has released dwellr, a new mobile app that delivers on-the-go access to key demographic, socio-economic and housing statistics for thousands of places across the nation.

How Big Data is Influencing Big Companies
A recent survey by New Vantage Partners, a data and analytics consulting company, sheds light on what large organizations are actually doing with big data initiatives.

B&G Report: Forgotten “Little Data,” the Surprising Quality of Innovative Project Managers and More
Our society is intrigued with “big data”, but often fails to address the absence of critical “little data.”

Rapid Development in Big Data Analytics Has Led to Increased Investment
Big data has been around for decades but has only taken on the form of a buzzword in the last few years, so why are people taking an increased interest in it?

New & Updated Data Sources

OnTheMap Version 6.2 Released
Version 6.2 of OnTheMap includes redesigned Composite PDF reports with improved graphics and layout; changes to the OnTheMap base map and color schemes for improved readability; as well as the setting of bar charts as the default chart type for Area Profile, Destination, and Paired Area analyses.  Version 3.2.3 of OnTheMap for Emergency Management was also released.

Census Bureau to Postpone Release of Some New Residential Construction Information
Due to the recent lapse in federal funding, the U.S. Census Bureau has announced revisions to the release date for the September and October New Residential Construction indicator’s housing starts and housing completions statistics website.

Visualization of the Week

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management used data from BLS to produce this “heat map” showing employment numbers in every region of the country.  Regions with above average economic growth are in green, near average in yellow, and below average in red.

Notable Data Publications

GOVERNMENT

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – The Long-Term Uninsured in America, 2008-2011 (Selected Intervals): Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 65
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – National Health Care Expenses in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2011
• Bureau of Justice Statistics – Local Government Corrections Expenditures, FY 2005-2011
• Bureau of Justice Statistics – State Court Organization, 2011
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – Nonfatal Occupational Injuries And Illnesses Requiring Days Away From Work, 2012
• Census Bureau – America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2013
• Census Bureau – Data Visualization: HIV/AIDS Impact in Africa
• Census Bureau – Infographic Profiles Young Adults Without Health Insurance
• Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Resource Management Survey – ARMS Farm Financial and Crop Production Practices
• Department of Health and Human Services – Supplemental Poverty Measure Brief: 2009-2012
• Department of Housing and Urban Development – 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress
• Government Accountability Office – 2020 Census: Additional Actions Could Strengthen Future Census Test Designs
• National Center for Education Statistics – National Postsecondary Student Aid Study Price Estimates for Attending Postsecondary Education Institutions: 2011-2012
• National Center for Education Statistics – Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context-First Look at PISA 2012
• National Center for Education Statistics – STEM Attrition: College Students’ Paths Into and Out of STEM Fields
• National Center for Education Statistics – Trends in CTE Coursetaking
• National Center for Health Statistics – Psychotropic Medication Use Among Adolescents: United States, 2005-2010
• National Science Foundation – Higher Education R&D Expenditures: FY 2012

NONPROFITS & FOUNDATIONS

• AMSTAT – What? Me Worry? What to Do About Privacy, Big Data, and Statistical Research
• Economic Policy Institute – Low Wages and Scant Benefits Leave Many In-Home Workers Unable to Make Ends Meet
• Families USA – How Does the Affordable Care Act Affect People Who Buy Health Insurance in the Individual Market?
• Kaiser Family Foundation – The U.S. Government & Global Emerging Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response
• National Association of State Budget Officers – State Expenditure Report
• National Conference of State Legislatures – State Budgets and Tax Actions: Preliminary Report
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – Health at a Glance 2013
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – Programme for International Student Assessment
• Pew Charitable Trusts – America’s Big Cities in Volatile Times
• Pew Research Center – America’s Place in the World 2013
• Pew Research Center – Portrait of Jewish Americans

MEDIA

• Governing – Bankrupt Cities, Municipalities List and Map
• Governing – State Pension Plans: Liabilities, Funded Ratios
• Guardian – Maternity & Paternity Rights Worldwide

OTHER

• Data Quality Campaign – Supporting Early Warning Systems
• Eurostat – Pocketbook on Euro-Mediterranean statistics 2013 Edition

Did you work on a great report that you want your colleagues to know about?  Just email us and we’ll include it here.

Calls for Comment

APDU maintains a list of open calls for comment on proposed federal data collections.  We periodically alert APDU members to newly added calls for comment.  Over the last several weeks, calls for comment on the following proposed data collections were published in the Federal Register (with due date):

Bureau of Economic Analysis

• Institutional Remittances to Foreign Countries (December 27, 2013)

Census Bureau

• Questionnaire for Building Permit Official (January 21, 2014)

Department of Education

• Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection (January 3, 2014)

Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor

• Employer Survey of the Short Time Compensation Program (December 26, 2013)

Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Uniform Crime Reporting Data Collection (January 27, 2014)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

• National Automotive Sampling System (December 30, 2013)

Office of Justice Programs, DOJ

• National Youth Gang Survey (January 28, 2014)

Office of the Secretary, HHS

• Survey on Long-Term Care Awareness and Planning (January 3, 2014)