October 2021 COPAFS News

COPAFS News

The 2021 FCSM Research & Policy Conference has recently concluded. Slides from the over 225 presentations at the conference will be available to the public in the next few weeks. More details on how these can be accessed will be sent out shortly.

On October 28, COPAFS signed on to a letter from Census Project to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to provide no less than the amount that the House approved for the Census Bureau in the final FY 2022 CJS measure. The letter also urges Congress to consider going higher than that amount to support a variety of pressing operational priorities, including the 2022 Economic Census, American Community Survey, and Pulse Surveys.

Upcoming Events

COPAFS Quarterly Meeting: December 3, 2021
COPAFS will hold its next Quarterly Meeting on Friday, December 3, 2021. The agenda and meeting registration information will be available soon.

SAVE THE DATE 2022 FCSM Research and Policy Conference: October 25-27, 2022
The 2022 FCSM Research and Policy Conference has been scheduled for October 25-27, 2022. The conference is being planned as an in-person event at the Washington Convention Center.

Agency Releases

Bureau of Economic Analysis (DOC)

• On October 28, GDP, Third Quarter 2021 (Advance Estimate) was released. Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.0 percent in the third quarter of 2021, according to the “advance” estimate. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 6.7 percent. The GDP estimate is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The “second” estimate for the third quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on November 24, 2021.
• On October 1, GDP by State, 2^nd Quarter, 2021 was released. Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2021, as real GDP for the nation increased at an annual rate of 6.7 percent. The percent change in real GDP in the second quarter ranged from 9.7 percent in Nevada to 1.8 percent in Alaska.

Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ)

• On October 26, Federal Justice Statistics, 2019 was released. This report is the 33rd in an annual series based on data from BJS’s Federal Justice Statistics Program, which began in 1979. It provides national statistics on the federal response to crime for fiscal year 2019. During fiscal year (FY) 2019, federal law enforcement made 206,630 arrests, a 6% increase from the 195,771 arrests in FY 2018 and a 14% increase from the 181,726 arrests in FY 2009. An immigration offense was the most serious arrest offense in 57% of federal arrests in FY 2019. In FY 2019, the five federal judicial districts along the U.S.-Mexico border accounted for 66% of federal arrests.
• On October 25, Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2019 was released. This report details ongoing and completed efforts to measure and analyze the nationwide incidence of human trafficking, to describe characteristics of human-trafficking victims and offenders, and to describe criminal justice responses to human-trafficking offenses. Between 2015 and 2020, the number of states reporting to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s Human Trafficking (UCR-HT) data collection has increased from 37 to 47. The number of arrests reported for human trafficking involving involuntary servitude increased from 66 in 2015 to 146 in 2019 before declining to 92 in 2020. Reported arrests for human trafficking involving commercial sex acts increased from 684 in 2015 to 880 in 2016 before declining to 301 in 2020.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (DOL)

• On October 29, Employment Cost Index, September 2021 was released. Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in September 2021. Wages and salaries increased 1.5 percent and benefit costs increased 0.9 percent from June 2021. Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.7 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and increased 2.4 percent in September 2020. Wages and salaries increased 4.2 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and increased 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2020. Benefit costs increased 2.5 percent over the year and increased 2.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2020.
• On October 14, Producer Price Index, September 2021 was released. The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.5 percent in September, seasonally adjusted. Final demand prices moved up 0.7 percent in August and 1.0 percent in July. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index rose 8.6 percent for the 12 months ended in September, the largest advance since 12-month data were first calculated in November 2010. Nearly 80 percent of the September increase in the index for final demand can be traced to a 1.3-percent rise in prices for final demand goods. The index for final demand services moved up 0.2 percent. Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 0.1 percent in September after increasing 0.3 percent in August. For the 12 months ended in September, the index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services rose 5.9 percent.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (DOT)

• On October 28, the latest update to the National Transportation Statistics was released. This month’s featured table, Average Cost of Owning and Operating an Automobile, speaks directly to consumer pocketbooks. The October release also features tables on transportation safety as well as transportation and pollution.
• On October 26, North American Transborder Freight, August 2021 was released. $113.1 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, up 21% compared to August 2020. August 2021 transborder freight was up 7.6% from the $105.1 billion in freight moved in August 2019. Freight between the U.S. and Canada totaled $56.8B, up by 21.9% from August 2020. Freight between the U.S. and Mexico totaled $56.3B, up 20.1% from August 2020. Trucks moved $70.5 billion of freight, up 15.9% compared to August 2020 and up 6.8% compared to $66.1 billion in August 2019.

Census Bureau (DOC)

• On October 28, the 2020 Annual Business Survey was released. The survey covers reference year 2019 and indicates that approximately 18.7% (1.1 million) of U.S. employer businesses were minority-owned, veteran-owned businesses made up about 5.7% (331,151) of all businesses. About 20.9% (1.2 million) of businesses were owned by women.
• On October 25, The Final Report on 2020 Census Integrated Communications Campaign was released. The ICC encompasses a $675 million outreach effort designed to educate the nation’s 140 million households about the importance of responding to the 2020 Census. The report highlights the 2020 Census ICC, including adjustments made to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges such as emerging national events, changing media consumption habits, federal government activities and Census Bureau operational delays.

Economic Research Service (USDA)

• On October 29, the latest numbers on the Drought in the Western United States were released. As of October 12, 2021, drought conditions are most severe in the western U.S. States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and North Dakota. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, on October 12, 2021, more than 52 percent of the West’s land area was classified as experiencing extreme or exceptional drought. Drought conditions in the western United States have important implications for the agricultural economy. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) (as of October 12th, 2021), more than 45 percent of alfalfa hay acreage in the United States was experiencing severe drought conditions.
• On October 28, Examining the Decline in US Per Capita Consumption of Fluid Cow’s Milk, 2003-2018 was released. U.S. per capita consumption of fluid cow’s milk has been decreasing for over 70 years. During the previous decade, it fell at a faster rate than it did during each of the previous six decades. The average rate of decrease was 1.0 percent per year over the 2000s. During the 2010s, it was 2.6 percent per year.

Energy Information Administration (DOE)

• On October 29, the Monthly Biofuels Capacity and Feedstocks Update was released.
• On October 29, the Electric Power Annual 2020 Report was released. The report presents 11 years (2010–20) of national-level data on such topics as: Electricity sales; Electricity generation and useful thermal output; Electricity generating capacity; Fuel consumption; Fuel stocks; Fuel receipts, cost, and quality; Electricity power system characteristics and performance; Environmental data; Energy efficiency, demand response, and advanced meters; Distribution system reliability; and U.S. territories.

National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA)

• On October 28, NASS announced enhancements to the CropScape web app, allowing users to more easily conduct area and statistical analysis of planted U.S. commodities. Now known as CroplandCROS, the geospatial data product hosts the Cropland Data Layer (CDL). The NASS CDL is a 30-meter derived, crop-specific land cover classification that is created annually from satellite imagery. “CroplandCROS improves the user experience by providing a consolidated, organized, and intuitive interface for conducting area analysis of U.S. cropland commodities,” said NASS Director of Research and Development Linda Young. “We’ve made these enhancements while maintaining the analysis integrity of the CropScape application. The app also shows the importance of inter-agency collaboration in building innovative solutions and products.”
• On October 13, NASS announced it will mail its first Hemp Acreage and Production Survey to 20,500 producers across the nation, beginning Oct. 18. The hemp survey will collect information on the total planted and harvested area, yield, production, and value of hemp in the United States. “This inaugural hemp survey will establish a necessary benchmark and provide critically-needed data for the hemp industry,” said NASS Acting Administrator Kevin Barnes. “The information collected can help inform producers’ decisions about growing, harvesting, and selling hemp as well as the type of hemp they decide to produce. The resulting data will also foster greater understanding of the hemp production landscape across regulatory agencies, producers, state and Tribal governments, processors, and other key industry entities.”

National Center for Education Statistics (DOEd)

• On October 14, the 2020 Long-Term Trend Reading and Mathematics Assessment Results at Age 9 and Age 13 were released. This report presents the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend assessments in reading and mathematics administered during the 2019–20 school year to 9- and 13-year-old students. Long-term trend assessments were first administered in the early 1970s; results are available for 13 reading assessments dating back to 1971 and 12 mathematics assessments dating back to 1973. This report provides trend results in terms of average scale scores, selected percentiles, and five performance levels. Item maps for each age group illustrate skills demonstrated by students when responding to assessment questions.
• On October 14, provisional web tables on Graduation Rates for Selected Cohorts, 2012-17; Outcome Measures for Cohort Year 2012-13; Student Financial Aid, Academic Year 2019-20; and Admissions in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2020 were released. This provisional set of web tables presents fully edited and imputed data findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2020-21 data collection, which included four survey components: Graduation Rates for selected cohorts 2012-2017, Outcome Measures for cohort year 2012-13, Student Financial Aid data for the academic year 2019-20, as well as Admissions for Fall 2020.

National Center for Health Statistics (CDC)

• On October 26, Fetal Mortality: United States, 2019 was released. A total of 21,478 fetal deaths at 20 or more weeks of gestation were reported in the United States in 2019. The U.S. fetal mortality rate was 5.70 fetal deaths at 20 or more weeks of gestation per 1,000 live births and fetal deaths, 3% lower than in 2018 (5.89) and a historic low for the United States. The fetal mortality rate in 2019 for deaths occurring at 20–27 weeks of gestation was 2.98, a 4% decline from 2018 (3.11).
• On October 25, National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Severe Maternal Morbidity in Inpatient and Emergency Departments was released. In the 2016 NHCS, 117,336 patients delivered between April 1, 2016, and September 30, 2016 (97.0% of these had a live birth, 1.0% had a stillbirth, and 2.0% were unspecified). Among this study population, 2,335 (2.0%) patients had SMM at delivery. These patients tended to be older, had a longer hospital stay, had a higher proportion of preterm births, and were more likely to have either a predelivery hospitalization or a postpartum ED visit.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF)

• On October 28, NCSES reported Federal Obligations for R&D to Private Nonprofit Institutions Totaled $8.3 Billion in FY 2019. This figure surpasses the previous high of $8.1 billion set in FY 2010 when many agencies’ obligations included an infusion of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. On a current dollar basis, federal agency obligations for R&D to nonprofit institutions increased 135% in FY 2019 from $3.5 billion in FY 2000. When adjusted for inflation, FY 2019 obligations for R&D totaled $7.4 billion, an increase of 63% from $4.5 billion in FY 2000. However, when compared to FY 2010, federal obligations to private nonprofit institutions decreased 12% from the FY 2010 high of $8.5 billion. Analysis of federal obligations to nonprofit R&D helps policymakers and stakeholders monitor changes to an important source of nonprofit R&D funding.
• On October 12, FFRDC Research and Development Expenditures: FY2020 was released. This report provides data from the 2020 Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) Research and Development Survey. This survey is the primary source of information on separately accounted R&D expenditures at FFRDCs in the United States. Conducted annually for university-administered FFRDCs since FY 1953 and all FFRDCs since FY 2001, the survey collects information on R&D expenditures by source of funds and types of research and expenses. The survey is an annual census of the full population of eligible FFRDCs.

Office of Research, Evaluation and Statistics (SSA)

• In October, the SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2020 was released. About 8.0 million people received federally administered payments in December 2020. The average monthly payment in December 2020 was $576. Total payments for the year were more than $56 billion, including $2.5 billion in federally administered state supplementation.

Statistics of Income Division (IRS)

• In October, Foreign Recipients of US Income Statistics were released. Withholding Agents who pay U.S.-source income to nonresident aliens and other foreign persons are required to report this income on Form 1042-S, Foreign Persons’ U.S.-Source Income Subject to Withholding.This income is subject to a flat, statutory tax rate of 30 percent. However, this rate is frequently reduced or eliminated by an income tax treaty or statutory exemption.
• In October, International Boycott Report Statistics were released. International Boycott Reports are required of U.S. taxpayers to report operations in, with, or related to, countries participating in boycotts not sanctioned by the U.S. government. Per Internal Revenue Code section 999(a), taxpayers report these operations on Form 5713, International Boycott Report, filed annually with their Federal income tax returns. Congress enacted the antiboycott laws in the 1970’s in response to the Arab league’s boycott of Israel.

Federal Register Notices

There were 17 federal register notices posted by federal statistical agencies from September 26, 2021 to October 25, 2021. Links to each of these notices are organized by agency below.

Bureau of Economic Analysis (DOC) – 3 New Notices

Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ) – 2 New Notices

Bureau of Labor Statistics (DOL) – 1 New Notice

Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOT) – 2 New Notices

Census Bureau (DOC) – 4 New Notices