Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
Another interesting way to visualize the County Business Patterns data is the rank matrix. In this post, we show the highest paying industries for each region since the 1998 – the year when the NAICS was introduced.
Alexander Fishkov, Ph.D. student Computer Science
In this post we will look at 2013’s PUMS five-year survey data to see if married people have different occupations than divorced people. The survey data we use comes from the American Community Survey, which asks its respondents in detail about various social and economic aspects of their life. PUMS stands for Public Use Microdata Sample and corresponds to a portion of the whole survey that is released to the public. Its five-year release contains data from most localities of the U.S.
Continue reading Do married and divorced have different occupations?
Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
Some names have been popular for as long as we can remember (Michael and Emily almost never go out of fashion). Others, as it seems, just come and go.
There are also certain differences between U.S. regions. Jacob was the most popular name in most of the states around 2000. And at the same time, you’re much less likely to meet someone named Jacob in the northeastern states.
Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
Recently, the baby names data on the official Social Security website have been updated with 2014 births. We have found several interesting trends in the data.
There are many unisex names which are suitable for both boys and girls. Dylan, Alexis and Jordan are the most popular examples. Interestingly, as the following chart shows, there’s a definite trend in the popularity of such names:
Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
According to the County Business Patterns 2013 data, the real estate subsector has shown relatively small growth in total employment numbers. Once we take a closer look, however, it becomes apparent that there are some changes to the distribution of jobs within the sector itself.
Continue reading Smaller real estate businesses are becoming more popular
Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
Another subsector showing interesting employment dynamics is Administrative Support and Services. During the last years, it has been posting steadily increasing employment numbers.
In the most recent County Business Patterns data though, it seems as if the growth has slowed down for all but the largest companies (500+ employees). While the growth in the other two size classes, small (less than 100 employees) and medium (from 100 to 499) companies, has been only marginal, almost 300,000 jobs were created by the largest companies since the previous data release.
Continue reading Administrative support services are shifting to larger companies
Kristine Barseghyan, Ph.D. (ABD) Social Sciences
Since the 1950s – the decade of all-time highest marriage rates, youngest families and “Mrs.” degrees – the social institutions of marriage and family in the United States have changed dramatically. The marriage rate dropped from 143 to 31 in 2012, and today less than half of women (47.1 percent) are married. In contrast, the proportion of divorced or separated women has significantly increased (14 percent). The share of married men is slightly higher (50.6 percent), and the share of divorced or separated men is lower (11 percent).
Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
Here’s another interesting fact from the County Business Patterns 2013 data: after a five-year slide, the construction sector (and, most importantly, building construction subsector) finally started growing.
Benjamin Schultz, Ph.D. Geography
After experiencing strong growth throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Evangelical Christianity is now the largest religious denomination in the United States. Due to its size and growing political significance, this group has entered into the national spotlight, sparking curiosity on the part of people who do not live communities with a strong Evangelical presence.
Continue reading The Social Geography of Evangelicals in America
Andrey Kamenov, Ph.D. Probability and Statistics
In this post, we continue to look into the recently-released County Business Patterns data. The one type of business that has suffered a significant decrease in employment numbers is general merchandise stores. In the South, its decrease is the largest one across all sectors within the same NAICS level.
Continue reading The popularity of small general stores is rising