News on U.S. Census Bureau

Poll: Public attitudes toward US census improving

2010-03-16T14:16:31Z

<div id="subtitle">With 2010 census under way, public awareness improving but concerns about intrusion linger</div><div><p>With the 2010 census under way, about 1 in 10 people may not participate in the population count, with many saying they see little personal benefit from the government survey or have concerns that it may be intrusive, according to a poll released Tuesday.</p><p>The Pew Resea...

US census forms arrive in the mail: What to expect

2010-03-15T13:30:15Z

<div id="subtitle">With money and politics at stake, US census forms arrive in the mail; next few weeks critical</div><div><p>Let the count begin.</p><p>More than 120 million U.S. census forms begin arriving Monday in mailboxes around the country, in the government's once-a-decade population count that will be used to divvy up congressional seats and more than $400 billion in federal aid. Fast-growing s...

Common problems when filling out US census forms

2010-03-15T00:45:26Z

<div id="subtitle">Some common problems when filling out US census forms: Household, residence and race</div><div><p>Some common problems when filling out U.S. census forms, which arrive by mail beginning Monday:</p><p>_HOUSEHOLD AND RESIDENCE: These are determined by where people live or sleep most of the time as of April 1. Household members should include babies born on or before April 1, 2010, as we...

Census Let the Count Begin

2010-03-15T01:30:26Z

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2010 file photo, U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves stands outside the during a media interview in the remote Inupiat Eskimo village Noorvik, Alaska. More than 120 million U.S. census forms begin arriving Monday, March 15, 2010, in mailboxes...

House bans misleading census mailings

2010-03-10T14:32:34Z

<div id="subtitle">House passes tighter restrictions on use of census name after misleading mailings from GOP</div><div><p>The House passed legislation Wednesday that would ban misleading mailings designed to appear they're from the Census Bureau, following criticism that Republican groups were sending fundraising letters using the census name.</p><p>Under the bill, mailings marked "census" wi...

Pop. 1 towns tell Census: Get count right

2010-03-06T21:15:39Z

<div id="subtitle">How can you miscount a town of 1? Census tally monitored warily in tiny places</div><div><p>The founding fathers must have chuckled at the impossibility of the job when they etched it into the Constitution: Count every man, woman and child along every back road and big-city avenue in the entire country.</p><p>From Key West to Nome, today's Americans will largely get the founders' joke yet again...

Gov't offers new assurance census data is private

2010-03-04T13:00:36Z

<div id="subtitle">With 2010 count nearing, gov't offers new assurances census won't be used for law enforcement</div><div><p>With the 2010 population count looming, the government provided new assurances Thursday that information Americans fill out on their census forms will be kept confidential and not be used for law enforcement.</p><p>In a letter to Congress, the Obama administration provided its lega...

Gov't adopts formula that doubles elderly poor

2010-03-03T05:45:33Z

<div><p>The government took steps Tuesday to highlight the increasing numbers of poor Americans, adopting a revised formula that is expected to double the number of older people classified as living in poverty to nearly 1 in 5.</p><p>Under the new formula, overall poverty is expected to increase from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, to 15.8 percent, or 47.4 million, mostly due to rising expenses from medical care and other factors.</p><p>The new measure w...

Universities push to get students in Census 2010

2010-02-27T12:30:14Z

<div id="subtitle">Universities push to get all students counted in 2010 Census, with federal funding at stake</div><div><p>It was 5 p.m. in the lobby of the library of Metropolitan State University, and Clara Ware was sitting behind a table covered with pens, notepads and buttons with the Census 2010 logo, calling out like a sidesh...

Market down big on ex-transportation durable goods orders

2010-02-25T20:00:10Z

A very confusing Census Bureau advanced report on durable goods orders is sending the market down.  The DJIA is off 160points or 1.55%.

The headline number was strong -> a 3% rise in durable goods in January, double the expected 1.5% rise.  What spooked the market though, was the number after exc...

Caribbeans urged to write in ancestry on US Census

2010-02-24T09:15:28Z

<div id="subtitle">With no category of their own, Caribbeans need many boxes to ID race, ethnicity on US Census</div><div><p>Identify yourself as being of "Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin" on the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire, and you will get to be more specific about your ancestry, such as Mexican-American, Cuban or Puerto Rican.</p><p&g...

Census director defends use of paid advertising

2010-02-23T14:15:22Z

<div id="subtitle">Census director defends paid ads to promote 2010 count, says agency is working to limit waste</div><div><p>The head of the Census Bureau is defending the agency's decision to spend $300 million to promote the national head count, saying paid advertising will save money by encouraging more people to mail in their forms.</p><p>US residents in new video to participate</div><div><p>The 2010 population count is just a month away, and President Barack Obama is asking U.S. residents to fill out their census forms.</p><p>In a 30-second video released Thursday...

Millions wasted on census as head count approaches

2010-02-22T09:17:06Z

<div id="subtitle">Audit: Census workers collected checks for excessive travel and training, wasting millions</div><div><p>Were those pricey Super Bowl ads a waste? Maybe not, but paying $3 million to census employees who didn't do any work surely was.</p><p>The Census Bureau, a month away from its 2010 population count, has already wasted millio...

Summary Box: Data show broadband policy challenges

2010-02-22T09:16:23Z

<div id="subtitle">Summary Box: Commerce Department data show 40 percent of Americans don't have home broadband</div><div><p>WHAT THE SURVEY FOUND: Roughly 40 percent of Americans do not have high-speed Internet access at home, often because they just don't want it.</p><p>WHY IT MATTERS: The findings underscore the challenges fa...

States get new leeway to tally prisoners in census

2010-02-22T10:11:05Z

<div id="subtitle">Change in Census Bureau data on prison population could reshape political map</div><div><p>Prisoners will soon be bigger players in those high-stakes redistricting fights, even if unwittingly, thanks to a change in federal policy governing how they're to be counted in the 2010 census.</p><p>Prison populations have historically ...

Census concerned about misleading mailings

2010-02-22T10:05:34Z

<div id="subtitle">Citing misleading mailings, House Democrats push tighter restrictions on use of census name</div><div><p>Republican groups are raising money under the guise of the U.S. Census Bureau, leaving the government's people-counters worried that a flurry of misleading letters could make some Americans less likely to respond to the real thing.</p>&am...

Gov't buys $2.5M in Super Bowl ads to boost census

2010-02-22T11:22:10Z

<div id="subtitle">Gov't tells US residents to stand up and be counted, spends $2.5M to get message on Super Bowl</div><div><p>Faced with record levels of red ink into the foreseeable future, Washington is spending $2.5 million to create buzz for the census — by advertising during the Super Bowl.</p><p...

Census Super Bowl

2010-02-05T14:00:47Z

This video frame grab image provided by the Census Bureau shows a scene from their advertisement to be shown during Sunday's Super Bowl. Faced with record levels of red ink into the foreseeable future, Washington is spending $2.5 million to create buzz for the census _ by advertising during the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Census Bureau)

Copy...

Census chief tries easing immigrant fears in Texas

2010-02-22T12:51:33Z

<div id="subtitle">Census director urges fearful residents in Texas 'colonia' to take part in population count</div><div><p>Police cars and large white vans rumbled down the unpaved road toward the ramshackle houses, where illegal immigrants are among hundreds living in a slapdash neighborhood, or colonia, called San Carlos.</p><p>