What's New - August 2002

Site of the Month: NCSL State Budget Shortfalls

For August, we've selected an especially topical site of the month.   If you follow state and local economies, we strongly recommend you visit the National Conference of State Legislature's website to look at your state's budget outlook (and those of other states as well).  While the growing federal budget deficit gets most of the attention in the national media, the recession's impact on state budgets will be the real variable influencing state and local economic growth in the next couple of years.  The news from NCSL is particularly grim--states now face a collective $58 billion shortfall.  This is particularly important for two reasons. First, unlike the federal government which can simply decide to run a deficit, states must generally balance expenditures with revenues each year--and these deficits imply real spending cuts or tax increases or both.  Second, states finance and operate, directly and indirectly the most important services citizens use daily--schools, roads, medical aid programs for the poor and other services.  Cuts here will be seen right away.
 http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/presbta02.htm

New Links Added

This month our new links focus on data about wages and salaries for different parts of the country.  You'll find links to the most popular geographic series reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as some useful private tools for comparing wages for specific occupations in different areas.

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Annual Average Wages by Large Counties
Annual press release ranking 314 large counties in terms of annual average wage per worker, 1996-latest year
http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/all_nr.htm

Annual Average Wages by Metro Area
Annual press release ranking metro areas in terms of annual average wage per worker, 1992-latest year
http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/all_nr.htm

Annual Average Wages by State
Annual press release ranking states in terms of annual average wage per worker, 1992-latest year
http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/all_nr.htm

Employment Standards Administration, DOL
State Minimum Wages Laws
Minimum hourly wage under state law, by state.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/minwage/america.htm

Salary.com
Salary Wizard
Annual salary estimates for over 1,000 occupations in over 150 metro areas. Includes median, 25th percentile, and 75th percentile salaries, including bonuses and benefits.
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_newsearch.asp

SalaryExpert.com
Salary Tools
Free annual salary estimates for numerous occupations in multiple metro areas and all states. Based on BLS Occupational Employment Statistics Data. More detailed profiles available for fee.
http://www.salaryexpert.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=FreeSalaryTools.Dsp_

Quickly Find Census 2000 Data for Any Address

Got just a zip code or a street address and want to generate a quick demographic profile of the neighborhood or area?  A new tool available as part of the American Fact Finder on the Census Bureau website lets you quickly zoom in and find relevant Census 2000 data for any address in the US.  Type in an address, the website will identify the county, census tract and block number of the address and give you a detailed list of data series for those geographies.  You can view data both in tables and in thematic maps.  
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/AGSGeoAddressServlet?_lang=en&_programYear=50&_treeId=420

BEA Releases Gross State Product Data for 2000

In June, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis released data on gross state product for the year 2000.  These data show the extent of growth in the final calendar year of the nation's ten-year economic expansion, which according to the National Bureau of Research, officially ended in the first quarter of 2001.  The leading states for GSP growth in 2000 were Rhode Island, Idaho and Oregon.  Aggregate Gross State Product rose 4.5 percent in 2000.  You'll find data for each of the 50 states by component of GSP on the BEA website:
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/gsp/

Thanks to our loyal users

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