Title Slide Breaking Local Stories with Economic Data

U.S. Census Bureau

Overberg Paul

Paul Overberg, a database editor at USA TODAY, !nds news in all kinds of data. He focuses on who the American people are and how they live -- their demographics. "at includes income in all of its many forms; their lack of income, or poverty; and their jobs, the primary source of income for most people. "rough IRE/NICAR, he often helps local reporters learn about this kind of data. He also has worked as a science and health editor and as a local reporter and business editor.

poverberg@usatoday.com @poverberg

Where we’re headed Real news stories using Census data on: •  Establishments •  Number of employees •  Size of payroll •  Breakdowns by industry, size and age of establishment •  Worker demographics •  How to !nd each type of data •  How to turn data → stories!

Photo by Flickr user Rosipaw

Firms with no employees “"ere are more than 21 million businesses ...with no employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau drawing on IRS data. In Orange County, the number is around 250,000. ...” -- Jan Norman, Orange County Register, March 12, 2012

h"p://www.ocregister.com/ar2cles/  one-­‐342923-­‐businesses-­‐million.html  

Firms with no employees

census.gov/econ/nonemployer

•  Use highlighted metro dropdown menu to choose “Washington-Arlington-Alexandria” metro area  

Start here: census.gov/econ/nonemployer

Firms with no employees Drill for detail or compare to other areas. •  Data from IRS (tax returns) •  Counting difficulties!

Firms with no employees •  Best used for trends •  Note recent trends

Change in small Washington firms, by industry, 2006-10

Mining

Hotel/food service

TOTALUtilities

Transportation

WholesaleFinanceRetail

Construction

Manufacturing

Arts, entertainment

Health care

Real estate

Administration

Education

-25%

-20%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

-20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Change in firms

Cha

nge

in re

ceip

ts

Video: Finding Economic Census data How to !nd detailed Economic Census data in American FactFinder •  Look up data from 2002 and 2007. •  "ink about 2012 data coming later this year and next.

Review the video at: h"p://bit.ly/econdata13  

Economic Census •  2012 Economic Census under way •  Most local data coming in 2014

•  Good for long trends •  Good for small areas

Economic Census “... Somerville’s stores dominated Somerset County retailing before slipping badly in the 1974-75 recession. ... Bellomo said ... stores cannot match burgeoning commercial strips in Hillsborough, Green Brook and North Plain!eld.” -- !e (Bridgewater, N.J.) Courier-News, March 12, 1981

Economic Census Basics: •  Number of establishments •  Sales •  Annual payroll, Q1 payroll •  Paid employees

Keep in mind: •  Where people work, not where they live •  Establishments, not !rms

Photo by Flickr user rutlo

County Business Patterns “... "ere were 198 funeral homes in Maryland in 2010 ... 18 fewer homes than ... in 2002.” -- Jack Lambert, Aug. 3, 2012, Baltimore Business Journal

h"p://www.bizjournals.com/bal2more/  print-­‐edi2on/2012/08/03/  fewer-­‐deaths-­‐put-­‐damper-­‐on-­‐smaller.html?page=all  

County Business Patterns •  Start here: census.gov/econ/cbp •  Use highlighted dropdown to get metro Washington

Video: Gauging local industrial diversity How County Business Patterns data can help you gauge the diversity -- and the health -- of local industries

Review the video at: h"p://bit.ly/econdata13  

Quarterly Workforce Indicators “A study released this week by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found ... the job creation and hiring rate in !rms less than 2 years old has outpaced that of more established !rms since 2008. ...” -- Diane Stafford, Nov. 30, 2012, Kansas City Star

h"p://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/30/3940317/kauffman-­‐report-­‐startups-­‐lead.html  

Quarterly Workforce Indicators •  Start here: lehd.did.census.gov • Click here: lehd.ces.census.gov/ datatools/qwiapp.html •  Choose “Maryland”

Quarterly Workforce Indicators •  Was Baltimore doing as well as Maryland at this point?

Local building permits “... "e Elkhart housing market hit a trough in building permits at the end of April 2009, and the South Bend housing market hit that trough at the end of November 2011. ...” -- Justin Leighty, !e Elkhart Truth, Feb. 8, 2013

h"p://www.elkhar"ruth.com/ar2cle/20130207/NEWS01/702089993  

Local building permits Start here: census.gov/construction/bps •  Click either highlighted link. •  Make dropdown selections.

Local building permits “Browse” option opens new window with data for that row from every county/city in a state.

Local building permits • "Metro" option opens text !le to use in spreadsheet. •  Note link structure for December 2012: census.gov/ construction/bps/txt/ tb3u201212.txt

census.gov/construction/bps/txt/tb3u201212.txt

Questions? "anks for coming! Paul Overberg

USA TODAY poverberg@usatoday Twitter: @poverberg  

h#p:/bit.ly/econdata13      

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Photo by Flickr user Xurble