Data Points: New resources and other noteworthy developments

Cell Phones vs. Land Lines: Drawing on data from its Consumer Expenditure Survey, part of the infrastructure for the consumer price index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that cellular phone expenditures increased 149 percent from 2001 through 2006, while spending on residential land lands fell 21 percent.  Expenditures for cellular phone services per consumer unit rose from $210 in 2001 to $524 in 2006. Expenditures for residential phone services per consumer unit fell from $686 in 2001 to $542 in 2006. More details are online.

Economic Profiles of 146 Countries: The World Bank has released its most comprehensive comparisons to date of 146 countries, showing the share of total production attributed to China and India was overestimated by 40 percent. The International Comparison Program estimates purchasing power parties benchmarked to 2005. Twelve economies account for more than two-thirds of the world’s output.  Get the report at the World Bank.

Off-Shoring in Services: Released in January, the report of Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration for the U.S. Congress and the Bureau of Economic Analysis: “Off-Shoring: What Are Its Effects?” found that services off-shoring has had little impact on science and engineering labor markets, the education of students in these fields, or career choices of American students in these fields. Janet Norwood, former BLS commissioner, chaired the panel.  The full report is available here.

New Atlas on Population, Housing: For the first time since the 1920s, the Census Bureau has published a comprehensive statistical atlas of population and housing.  Released Jan. 31, the 300-page volume includes more than 700 maps and figures on population and housing characteristics from 1790 to 2000. Order it at the GPO Bookstore.

Payroll Data Updated for NAICS: With the release of January 2008 employment data on Feb. 1, BLS has updated its nonfarm payroll series to the 2007 NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System).  This conversion to the latest NAICS resulted in “minor definitional changes within manufacturing, telecommunications, financial activities, and professional and technical services,” BLS said.  Get more details at BLS.

Additions to BEA Digital Archives: The Bureau of Economic Analysis announces that Survey of Current Business articles from the 1980s have been added to the agency’s Digital Library.