Demographic Information- Some Tidbits-Part I
(2/4/12)- Union membership in this country fell to 11.8% of the American workforce in 2011, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was down from the 11.9% figure in 2010, even though total membership rose by 49,000 to 14.76 million. This decline occurred because the percentage growth in employment exceeded the percentage growth in union membership.
According to the bureau, 16.3 million workers are represented by unions, some 1.5 million more than the total membership. This indicates that many workers are opting out of joining the unions that represent them at their workplaces.
The percentage of public sector workers in unions was 37% last year, more than five times the 6.9% membership rate for the private sector workers. The percentage of union membership in unions for the private sector has decreased from the more than 35% membership rate in the 1950s.
New York State had the highest unionization rate at 24.1% while North Carolina has the lowest membership rate at 2.9%.
The unemployment rate among Americans 75 and older was 5.6% last year, compared to 2.5% in 2006 according to figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of December, 1.21 million people ages 75 and older were working, a 25% jump from the 1.05 million in 2005.
7.3% of the oldest Americans have jobs, up from 5.3% a decade ago, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
(12/5/11)- According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 40.3 million people age 65 and older living in this country as of April 2010. That is an increase of 15% from the prior census in 2000. Nationally the population grew by 9.7% from 2000 to 2010.
Those who are 65 or older now comprise 13% of the population, which is the greatest percentage of the population for this age group since the government began compiling this data.
The Northeast had the largest percentage of people 65 or older, at 14%, but the fastest growth in this category of older people took place in the West where the percentage of growth from 2000 was 23% over the decade.
Nationwide, the only group that experienced a decline was that of the 75-to 79 age category, which was down by 1.3% over the decade, reflecting the low number of births during the Great Depression in the 1930s.
(8/2/11)- The July 2011 National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief, No. 64, entitled Death in the United States, 2009 reported that "life expecxtancy at birth reached a record high of 78.2 years. White females had the longest life expectancy (80.9 years), followed by black females (77.4 years)."
(3/27/11)- In a preliminary report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age estimated for the life of a baby born in 2009 is 78 years and 2 months. This is the longest life expectancy estimate in U.S. history. The infant mortality rate hit a record low of 6.42 deaths per 1,000 live births, a drop of nearly 3% from 2008.
Male life expectancy is about 75.5 years, while female life expectancy is almost 80.5 years.
(3/21/11)- Deaths from 10 of the top 15 leading causes of
death in 2009 significantly declined. The 15 leading causes of
death in 2009 and the decreases in associated death rates were
reported as follows:
1.Heart disease: 3.7%; 2.Cancer: 1.1%; 3.Chronic lower
respiratory diseases: 4.1%; 4.Stroke: 4.2%; 5.Accidents: 4.1%;
6.Alzheimer's disease: 4.1%;
7.Diabetes: 4.1%; 8.Flu and pneumonia: 4.7%; 9.Inflammation and
scarring of the kidneys (nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and
nephrosis): no change;
10.Intentional self-harm (suicide): no change; 11.Widespread
blood infection (septicemia): 1.8%; 12.Chronic liver disease and
cirrhosis: no change;
13.High blood pressure (essential hypertension) and kidney
disease due to long-term high blood pressure: no change;
14.Parkinson's disease: no change;
15.Homicide: 6.8%.
Suicide swapped places with septicemia in the 2009 ranking to
become the 10th leading cause of death, although the number of
suicides did not significantly increase between 2008 and 2009.
(12/21/10)- The age-adjusted death rate decreased from 760.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 2007 to 758.7 deaths per 100,000 population in 2008.
From 2007 to 2008 age-adjusted death rates decreased significantly for 6 of the 15 leading causes of death: diseases of heart, malignant neoplasms, cerebrovascular diseases, accidents (unintentional injuries), diabetes mellitus, and assault (homicide).
From 2007 to 2008 age-adjusted death rates increased significantly for 6 of the 15 leading causes of death: chronic lower respiratory diseases; alzheimer's disease; influenza and pneumonia; nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis; intentional self-harm (suicide); and essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease." (From National Vital Statistic Reports dated Dec. 9th, 2010, Volume 9.
(12/11/10)- The preliminary report from the National Center for Health Statistics for 2008, the latest year for which it is available, showed that life expectancy in this country dropped from 77.9 years in 2007 to 77.8 years in 2008.
Chronic lower respiratory diseases, which includes asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis became the 3rd leading cause for death in 2008, replacing stroke which dropped down to the number 4 slot.
Heart disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death, accounted for almost half of all deaths in 2008
(9/30/10)- As of the end of August there was a total of 14.9 million unemployed people in this country. Of that total, more than 2.2 million were 55 or older. Nearly half of them have been unemployed 6 months or longer, according to Labor Department statistics. The unemployment rate in the group-7.3%- is at a record, more than double what it was at the beginning of the recession.
(8/30/10)- Just as was the case in past recessions, the birthrate fell for the second year in a row since the recession began in 2007. The birthrate, which takes into account changes in the population, fell to 13.5 births for every 1,000 people last year. That is down from 14.3 people in 2007. Back in 1909 the birthrate in this country was 30.
There were an estimated 4,136,000 births in 2009, down from the 4,247,000 estimated births in 2008, and more than 4.3 million estimated births in 2007. The total number of births in 2007 was the greatest number of births that we have ever had in this country.
Recent recessions have all been followed by dips in the birthrate, according to the agency's figures. These figures included the recession years of 1981-1982, 1990-1991 and 2001. The birthrate dipped below 20 per 1,000 people in 1932 and did not rise above that level until the early 1940s.
"It's a good sized decline for one year," said Stephanie Ventura, the demographer who oversaw the report for the National Center for Health Statistics.
(3/25/10)- An analysis of Census Bureau statistics shows that multigenerational families, which accounted for 25% of the population in 1940, but only 12% of the population by 1980, edged up to 16% in 2008.
The analysis shows that the proportion of people 65 and older who live alone, which had risen from 6% in 1900 to 29% in 1990, declined slightly to 27% in 2008.
The number of older people living in multigenerational families rose to 20% in 2008 from 17% in 1980.
The proportion of those 85 and older living by themselves grew to 39% in 2008 form 22% in 1970. Among adults 65 and older, half are married, a share that has remained fairly constant since 1900. Nearly 25% are divorced and 60% are widowed.
The 2007 infant mortality rate (6.77/1000 live births) was slightly higher than the 2006 rate (6.69/1000 live births) but lower than the 2000 rate (6.89/1000 live births). The infant mortality rate in the U.S. continues to rank at about the 25th highest in the world
(1/25/10)- The number of deaths in the United States for 2007 was 2,423,995 (preliminary data). The age-adjusted death rate reached a record low of 760.3 per 100,000 population in 2007.
The death rate is now 43 percent lower than in 1960. The change can be attributed to the ongoing reductions in death rates from major causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and stroke.
Life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years. 72.5 percent of all deaths occurred among those aged 65 and over (1,759,472 deaths), and 29.5 percent occurred at age 85 and over.(NCHS Data Brief, #26, Dec 2009)
(10/22/09)- The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the 85+ age group of the population is the single fastest growing population segment. The number of individuals in this group is expected to reach seven million in 2020, up from four million in 2000. This segment is estimated to reach 21 million by 2050.
Life expectancy has increased from 69.7 years in 1960 to 77.8 years in 2006 and this figure is projected to grow to 78.3 in 2010 and 79.5 in 2020.
Please see our item dated 9/16/09 below for some slightly different figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for individuals aged 65 and over, accounting for 28% of all deaths in this age group. Cancer accounts for 22%, stroke 7%, chronic lower respiratory diseases 6%, Alzheimer's disease 4% and all other causes 33%. (NCHS Data Brief #26, Dec. 2009).
(9/16/09)- The average age of the world's population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The number of people worldwide age 65 and older is estimated at 506 million as of midyear 2008; by 2040, that number will hit 1.3 billion. Thus, in just over 30 years, the proportion of older people will double from 7 percent to 14 percent of the total world population, according to a new report, "An Aging World: 2008."
U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase is due mainly to falling death rates in almost all the leading causes of deaths. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2007 (77.9 years) is nearly three months greater than for children born in 2006 (77.7 years).
Death rates are at a record low in the United States according to the same report. Age-adjusted death rates decreased significantly for 8 of the 15 leading causes of death. The decrease in death rate held across all races and ethnicities, with black males showing the largest decrease- more than 4%. The drop occurred in all age groups except infants under 1 year old, where rates were unchanged.
(9/4/06)- The average age at which people are dying today in the United States is 68.5 for men, and 76.1 for women, according to Arialdi M. Minio of the National Center for Health Statistics. This differs from life expectancy, which estimates how long people born today are expected to live,
(9/18/99)- At birth, the American woman's life expectancy is now 79.1 years and a male's life expectancy is 73.1 years. According to statistics from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation women account for 54% of the Medicare beneficiaries from the age of 65 to 74, and account for 61% of the beneficiaries between the ages of 75 to 84. Women make up over 2/3rds of the nursing home population and 2/3rds of the users of home health care services.
According to statistics from the Older Women's League nearly 7 out of 10 Medicare beneficiaries who live below the Federal poverty level ($7,740 a year in 1996) are women. Seventeen % of the women on Medicare have incomes below this Federal poverty level.
As of 1995, it was estimated that the US population was 48.8% male and 87.4% non-black, with a median age of 34.3 (33.1 for males, 35.4 for females). The median age was up from 28 in 1970. In 1995, 28.9% of the population was under twenty, and 12.7% was age 65 and over, up from 9.8% in 1970. In 1995, about 63% of males and 59% of females 18 years and older were married, contrasting with 74% and 70%, respectively, in 1970. In 1990, about 6.7 million Americans lived in "group quarters" including 1.8 million persons in nursing homes and 1.9 million in college dorms. In 1994 over 1 million Americans were imprisoned.
See Article on Selecting a Nursing Home
For 1994, the crude death rate (total deaths per 1000 population) in the US was 8.8. This compares with a rate of 9.6 for 1950, 9.5 for 1970, 8.8 for 1980, but 8.2 for 1992. Mortality is relatively high during the first years of life; it drops by increasing age groups to a relatively low level until the mid-40s and then begins to climb again.
Males have a higher mortality rate than females at all ages. Thus, as the average age of the population increases, the female/male ratio increases as well.
In 1996, the 10 leading causes of death by disease-specific diagnosis categories (including "symptoms and ill-defined conditions and "all other diseases") were heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and influenza (primarily pneumonia), diabetes mellitus, all other infection and parasitic diseases, human immunodeficiency virus infection and suicide.
See Article on Respiratory Infections
McGinniss and Foege (1990) went beyond the classic list of death associated disease-specific diagnosis to the identification of the major external (non-genetic) factors known to be causally associated with death. They were able to attribute approximately half of all deaths occurring in 1991 to the following 10 risk factors; tobacco use (400,000 deaths), diet and activity (300,000), alcohol use (100,000), microbial agents (90,000), toxic agents (60,000), firearms (35,000), sexual behavior (30,000), motor vehicle use (25,000) and use of "illicit drugs" primarily heroin and cocaine (20,000).
In 1994, the marriage rate stood at 9.1 per 1000 population, down from 10.6 in 1970. The divorce rate, which had been at 5.2 per 1000 population in 1980, was 4.6 in 1994, slightly over 50% of the marriage rate. Even as the marriage rate has dropped in time, the proportion entering in divorce has increased slightly.
In 1995, one in six Americans-41 million people- had a chronic condition needing long-term care services. Of these more than 12 million said they needed assistance to perform activities and were unable to attend school, work or live independently. Eighty (80) percent of them reported that they needed assistance to live at home or in community residential settings. The remaining 20% were residing in institutions. Of the total 12 million who needed assistance, 57% were over 65 years of age, but 5 million (40%) were working-age adults. Children and youth represented 3% (400,000) of those needing long-term care services.
There are about 78 million baby boomers and starting after June 1996, about 10,000 of these boomers will turn 50 years old everyday. Those over the age of 75 years old are in the fastest-growing segment of the US population and by the year 2000 will constitute almost half of the elderly population.
Last year, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the US was 2.32 million (ranges 1.09 to 4.58 million) with approximately 68% women and 32% men (there are more women because of lower mortality rate). At this point, 4.3% of 75-year-olds, 8.5% of all 80 year-olds, 16% of all 85 year-olds and 28% of all 90 year-olds live with Alzheimer’s disease. This places approximately 43% of all people with Alzheimer’s disease between 75 & 85 years of age.
More than 50% of outpatients treated at a dementia clinic exhibit problematic behaviors (aggressiveness, delusions, agitation, anxiety, and depression) and about 20% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease are physically aggressive.
See Demographics Part II-Cancer Statistics Update
See Articles on Alzheimer's Disease
FOR AN INFORMATIVE AND PERSONAL ARTICLE ON PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS WHEN SELECTING A NURSING HOME SEE OUR ARTICLE "Selecting a Nursing Home"
By Harold Rubin, MS, ABD, CRC, Guest Lecturer
updated February 4, 2012
e-mail: hrubin12@nyc.rr.com
or rubin@brainlink.com