U.S. TUBERCULOSIS TRENDS

FROM CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

1. Trends in Tuberculosis — United States, 2013

Data indicate that cases and rates of TB disease continue to fall in the U.S.; however, a higher burden in some populations – such as foreign-born individuals and racial/ethnic minorities – keeps TB elimination out of reach. Preliminary data from the CDC National TB Surveillance System show a total of 9,588 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2013, marking a 4.2 percent decline in the 2012 rate (from 3.2 to 3.0 cases per 100,000 population). Despite overall progress, the TB rate for foreign-born individuals is 13 times higher than among individuals born in the U.S., and the proportion of TB cases in the foreign-born group continues to increase. Racial disparities persist. Hispanics, blacks and Asians face higher TB rates—7, 7 and 26 times higher, respectively—than whites. Persons infected with HIV and people who are homeless are also especially vulnerable to TB. Although the proportion of drug-resistant cases remains relatively small, drug resistant TB is a concern because it is difficult and costly to treat and more often fatal. In 2012, multidrug-resistant TB accounted for 1.2 percent of cases (86 cases). Two cases of extensively-drug-resistant TB were reported in 2013. The authors note that eliminating TB in the U.S. requires continuing to address TB in affected populations and improvements in awareness, testing and treatment of TB disease.

2. Implementation of New TB Screening Requirements for U.S.-Bound Immigrants and Refugees — 2007–2014

Updated CDC recommendations for overseas tuberculosis screening of immigrants and refugees has resulted in better diagnosis of TB before individuals arrive in the United States. CDC reports the completion of implementation of new tuberculosis screening and treatment requirements for US-bound immigrants and refugees. Implementation of these requirements has resulted in twice as many cases of tuberculosis being diagnosed and treated before immigrants and refugees arrive in the U.S. compared with the previous screening program. Since the new requirements were implemented, reports of cases of foreign-born tuberculosis have declined. In addition, the increase in persons diagnosed and treated overseas is projected to result in a savings of more than $15 million in US health care costs.

IRS REPORTS INCREASED TAX FILINGS SO FAR IN 2014

FROM:  INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 
Filing Season 2014 Begins with More Returns Filed

WASHINGTON — The IRS today announced that tax filings in 2014 have outpaced filings for the same time last year. As of Feb. 7, the IRS received 27.3 million returns, up 2.5 percent compared to the same time last year. Electronically filed returns account for almost 96 percent of those filed so far this year.

Taxpayers, either through tax preparers or from their home computers, have e-filed more than 26 million returns so far this year, up almost 4 percent compared to the same time last year. As of Feb. 7, taxpayers have filed more than 13 million returns from home computers, an increase of 14.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Refunds are up for 2014, with almost 19.5 million issued this year, an increase of more than 18 percent compared to the same time last year. The average refund as of Feb. 7 is $3,317, up 4.6 percent compared to the same time last year. (Refund averages generally have higher dollar values early in the filing season than later in the year.)

Most refunds are directly deposited into taxpayer accounts; just over 87 percent of all refunds issued were directly deposited as of Feb. 7. 2014.

LABOR SECRETARY PEREZ'S STATEMENT ON JANUARY 2014 EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS

FROM:  LABOR DEPARTMENT 
Statement of Labor Secretary Perez on January employment numbers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the January 2014 Employment Situation report released today:
"The U.S. economy's recovery continued in the first month of 2014 — 142,000 new jobs created in the private sector and 113,000 overall. January was the 47th consecutive month of private-sector job growth, with 8.5 million new jobs over that period. The unemployment rate (6.6 percent) maintained its downward trend, reaching its lowest level since October 2008. Manufacturing continued to rebound and has now generated 93,000 jobs over the last six months. Construction experienced its largest month-to-month job growth since March 2007. The labor force participation rate inched upward by .2 percent.

"But President Obama isn't satisfied with a modest recovery. In his State of the Union address ten days ago, he laid out an agenda that would quicken the pace of economic growth and job creation, an agenda based on the principle of opportunity for all. Through hard work, anyone should be able to succeed in America, to realize their dreams and secure a foothold in the middle class.

"To restore the promise of opportunity, the president has offered concrete proposals on everything from preschool education to infrastructure investments to retirement security. He is committed to making sure our skills and training programs prepare people for good jobs. He stands ready to work with members of both parties on immigration reform that would grow the economy by $1.4 trillion over the next two decades.

"To reward hard work with fair pay, he will sign an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 per hour, and he urges Congress to extend that same raise to all workers. He recently secured commitments from more than 300 companies to develop best practices for recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed. But too often, Congress remains a roadblock to progress. Just yesterday, a minority of senators blocked an extension of unemployment benefits that represent a lifeline for 1.7 million Americans struggling to find work through no fault of their own.

"Regardless of where you come from, you deserve a fair shot to get ahead and leave a better life for your children — that is what we mean by opportunity for all. Let's all work together to make it happen."

IRS STATISTICS FOR 2011

FROM:  INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 
Fall 2013 Statistics of Income Bulletin Now Available

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the availability of the Fall 2013 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which features information on individual income tax returns filed for tax year 2011.

Taxpayers filed 145.4 million individual income tax returns for 2011, an increase of 1.7 percent from tax year 2010. The adjusted gross income (AGI) reported on these returns totaled $8.4 trillion, a 3.5-percent increase from 2010. Taxable income rose 4.4 percent to $5.7 trillion for 2011.

The Statistics of Income (SOI) Division produces the SOI Bulletin on a quarterly basis. Articles included in the publication provide the most recent data available from various tax and information returns filed by U.S. taxpayers. This issue of the SOI Bulletin also includes articles on the following topics:

Partnership Returns:  Since 2002, the number of partnerships has increased at an average annual rate of 4.4 percent. For tax year 2011, a total of 3,285,177 partnerships filed federal tax returns, reporting $20.6 trillion in total assets and $580.9 billion in total net income or profit.

Accumulation and Distribution of Individual Retirement Arrangements:  About three- quarters of all taxpayers (145.6 million) were eligible to contribute to an individual retirement account (IRA) for 2010. Of the 3.5 million taxpayers who made IRA contributions, 62 percent were age 50 or older. For 2010, the end-of-year fair market value of IRAs reported by approximately 54.4 million taxpayers was roughly $5 trillion.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 21, 2013

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT 

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending December 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 338,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 380,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 343,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending December 14, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 14 was 2,923,000, an increase of 46,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,877,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,836,750, an increase of 39,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,797,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 413,920 in the week ending December 21, a decrease of 159 from the previous week. There were 457,578 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent during the week ending December 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,984,815, an increase of 113,284 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,254,315.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending December 7 was 4,279,284, a decrease of 132,858 from the previous week. There were 5,471,714 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending December 7.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,869 in the week ending December 14, a decrease of 306 from the prior week. There were 2,004 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 352 from the preceding week.

There were 20,880 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending December 7, a decrease of 1,559 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 31,459, a decrease of 1,478 from the prior week.

States reported 1,333,332 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending December 7, a decrease of 40,699 from the prior week. There were 2,096,243 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 14 were in Alaska (5.3), Puerto Rico (3.8), Pennsylvania (3.5), California (3.3), Connecticut (3.1), Montana (3.1), West Virginia (3.1), Illinois (2.8), Oregon (2.8), and Wisconsin (2.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 14 were in California (+4,622), Illinois (+3,686), Massachusetts (+2,331), Ohio (+1,529), and Indiana (+1,473), while the largest decreases were in New York (-12,706), Pennsylvania (-10,866), Georgia (-8,340), Texas (-4,904), and Wisconsin (-4,821).

CDC TOUTS BENEFITS OF INFLUENZA VACCINATIONS

FROM:  CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 
Influenza Illnesses and Hospitalizations Averted by Influenza Vaccination — United States, 2012–13 Influenza Season

Influenza vaccination produces a substantial health benefit in terms of preventing illness, medical visits and hospitalizations, but further raising vaccination rates and producing more effective vaccines would greatly increase the benefits realized by influenza vaccination in the United States. In this report, CDC uses a model first published in June 2013 to estimate the number of influenza-associated illnesses, medically attended illnesses and hospitalizations that were prevented last season as a result of flu vaccination. Based on this model, CDC estimates that flu vaccination in 2012-2013 reduced the numbers of flu illnesses, medically attended illnesses and hospitalizations by 17 percent over what would have occurred in the absence of influenza vaccination. This report shows the benefits of the flu vaccination program in terms of reducing flu illnesses, including serious illnesses resulting in hospitalizations.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 12, 2013

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT

Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims: 358,000 as of October 12, 2013
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% in September 2013
Consumer Price Index: +0.1% in August 2013
Payroll Employment: +148,000(p) in September 2013
Average Hourly Earnings: +$0.03(p) in September 2013
Producer Price Index: +0.3% in August 2013

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending October 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 358,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 373,000. The 4-week moving average was 336,500, an increase of 11,750 from the previous week's revised average of 324,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending October 5, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 5 was 2,859,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,902,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,875,750, an increase of 17,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,858,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 357,041 in the week ending October 12, an increase of 20,902 from the previous week. There were 362,730 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending October 5, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,418,329, a decrease of 56,979 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2 percent and the volume was 2,753,759.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending September 28 was 3,928,697, a decrease of 82,725 from the previous week. There were 5,001,985 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending September 28.

As a result of the lapse in federal appropriations, initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees (UCFE) totaled 70,068 in the week ending October 5, an increase of 68,677 from the prior week. The states with the highest number of UCFE claims were Maryland (17,368), Texas (7,191), Pennsylvania (4,416), Utah (3,978) and Washington (3,380). There were 3,382 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 1,285 from the preceding week.

There were 19,586 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending September 28, a decrease of 334 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 34,934, an increase of 3,293 from the prior week.

States reported 1,379,118 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending September 28, a decrease of 46,366 from the prior week. There were 2,098,793 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 5 were in Puerto Rico (3.9), Alaska (3.5), Virgin Islands (3.4), New Jersey (3.0), California (2.9), Connecticut (2.7), Pennsylvania (2.6), Illinois (2.3), Nevada (2.3), New York (2.3), and Oregon (2.3).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 5 were in California (+33,654), Maryland (+4,609), Ohio (+4,122), Michigan (+4,066), and Virginia (+3,927), while the largest decreases were in Oregon (-149), Puerto Rico (-77), Missouri (-50) and Nebraska (-26).

LABOR DEPARTMENT SAYS 85% OF FULL-TIME PRIVATE INDUSTRY WORKERS COVERED BY EMPLOYER-PROVIDED MEDICAL CARE

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employer-provided medical care was available to 85 percent of full-time private industry workers in the United States in March 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. By contrast, only 24 percent of part-time workers had medical care benefits available. Access, or availability, also varied by employment size: 57 percent for all workers in small establishments (those with fewer than 100 employees), compared with 85 percent in medium and large establishments (those with 100 employees or more).

Retirement benefits followed a similar pattern as medical care benefits. In private industry, 74 percent of full-time workers had access to a retirement plan, significantly higher than 37 percent of part-time workers. Retirement benefits were available to 49 percent of workers in small establishments and 82 percent of workers in medium and large establishments. A worker with access to a medical or retirement plan is defined as having an employer-provided plan available for use, regardless of the workers’ decision to enroll or participate in the plan.  (See charts 1 and 2.)

Paid sick leave benefits were also more commonly offered to full-time workers and those in medium and large establishments in private industry. Plans were offered to 74 percent of full-time workers and 24 percent of part-time workers. Similarly, 51 percent of workers in small establishments and 72 percent in medium and large establishments had access to a paid sick leave benefit. (See charts 1 and 2 and table 6.)

These data are from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), which provides comprehensive measures of compensation cost trends and incidence and provisions of employee benefit plans.Additional findings include:
   *   In private industry, 64 percent of employees had access to retirement benefits, significantly less  than the 89 percent of state and local government employees with access. Additionally, only 49 percent of private industry employees actually participated in a retirement plan (had current coverage), significantly less than the 85 percent participation rate of state and local government  employees.  (See table 1.)

   *   Full-time workers in state and local government had greater access to employer-provided benefits  than private industry workers. For example, retirement and medical care benefits were offered to 99 percent of state and local government workers while only 74 percent of full-time employees in private industry had access to retirement benefits and 85 percent to medical care coverage. (See tables 1 and 2.)

   *   For private industry employees in the lowest 10 percent of average earnings, employers paid 71 percent of the single coverage medical plan premium. For employees in the highest 10 percent of average earnings, the employer share of the premium was 81 percent. For family coverage, the
       employer share of the premium was 56 percent for employees in the lowest 10 percent of arnings, significantly less than the 73 percent for employees in the highest 10 percent of earnings.  (See tables 3 and 4).

   *   Access and participation in life insurance benefits varied significantly for full-time and part-time workers. In private industry, 72 percent of full-time workers had access to life insurance benefits. For state and local government workers, 90 percent of full-time workers had access. In contrast, only 14 percent of part-time workers in private industry and 23 percent of state and local government workers had access.  Most workers who had access participated in life insurance benefits. (See table 5.)

   *   Paid holidays were available to 97 percent of management, business, and financial employees in private industry.  In contrast, only 53 percent of service employees in private industry were provided paid holidays.  (See table 6.)


More information can be obtained by calling (202) 691-6199, sending e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or by visiting the BLS Internet site, http://www.bls.gov/ebs/home.htm.

                                               NOTE

More information will be published in early fall, including March 2013 data for civilian, private industry, and state and local government workers on the incidence and provisions of health care benefits,
retirement benefits, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability benefits, paid holidays and vacations, and other selected benefits. For the latest benefit publications, see: http://www.bls.gov/ebs.
In addition, new editions of Beyond the Numbers: Pay and Benefits (http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/) will be published featuring the latest benefits data. Beyond the Numbers: Pay and Benefits, brings together employee benefits information from various National Compensation Survey publications into one convenient and easy-to-read format.