On April 23, the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting data on the effects of COVID-19 on American households, called the Household Pulse Survey. The survey explores: loss in employment income; expected loss in employment income; food scarcity; delayed medical care; housing insecurity; and K-12 educational changes. Connecticut saw the biggest increase between the first two weeks in the delay of medical care. In addition, over 50% of households have experienced income loss since March 13, 2020.
Read MoreLike many of our partners, with every new data point, news article, and piece of information, more questions continue to arise. This week, we dove into the COVID-19 death data to highlight how a simple difference in data definitions can influence key takeaways. To do this, we compared day by day deaths to cumulative deaths.
Read MoreWith unemployment rates and claims for unemployment benefits rising, Connecticut businesses are grappling with how to be more agile, moving their work online, and altering business-as-usual to safely return employees to work. The State has developed advisory groups such as Reopen Connecticut Advisory Board and hired consulting firms to understand and plan for the next phase. These efforts assume that employees feel safe returning to work and that businesses have enough reserves to manage through the crisis. Survey results suggest that may not be the case in Connecticut.
Read MoreConnecticut remained in 15th place among the 50 states this week. As of May 12 the self-response rate was 62.6%, getting us closer to our 2010 final self-response rate of 69.5%. Each of the municipalities that have the highest self-response rates were within 4 percentage points of their final 2010 rate as of May 12, 2020. However, seven towns in Connecticut that have surpassed their 2010 self-response rate as of May 12, 2020 get to celebrate. Sprague reached their 2010 rate (43.8%) earliest on April 15. This town also saw the large surge from their 2010 rate, at 57.4% as of May 12, over thirteen percentage points above their 2010 rate. Colebrook met their 2010 rate and joined the club as of May 9.
Read MoreWhat you need to know: Changes to the 2020 Census timeline will likely leave state legislators with little time to redraw Connecticut’s congressional and legislative districts if needed. Clarification to the state constitution is urgently needed to ensure that the legislature—not the court—can determine Connecticut’s districts.
Read MoreLooking for data at the county level? In partnership with United Services, Inc., CTData developed the Connecticut County Data Stories. Each story provides insight into areas such as demographics, economy, families, schools, and housing. Users can focus on a specific county or compare data between counties.
Read MoreAs of Monday, May 4, 2020, Connecticut’s self-response rate hit 60% and moved the state up to 15th place among the 50 states. Last week 91, or 54% of Connecticut’s towns, had self-response rates at or above 60%. This week, 119, or 70%, of our towns are above 60% self-response rates. Tolland claimed the top spot again with a self-response rate of 76.5%. Other towns with a high self-response rate included Marlborough (75.9%), Burlington (75.1%), Orange and Granby (74.4%), and Cheshire (74.3%).
Read MoreAt CTData, we are data people and believe data is for everyone. We know access to reliable and trustworthy resources is essential to increasing data literacy and informing decision making, especially during a global health crisis. We also know unless you were trained as an epidemiologist, it can be difficult to understand how to read and interpret the information being disseminated.
Read MoreLosing a job is hard enough, but losing a job during a crisis can lead to even more devastation. As unemployment shakes the state, the data shows that its impact varies based on age, gender, and sector. We created the charts below to illustrate which groups have been most affected by unemployment in Connecticut. Read more for a visual summary of unemployment claims data by age, gender, and industry sector provided by the CT Department of Labor for the weeks of March 15th and 22nd.
Read MoreAs of Monday, April 27, 2020, 54% of Connecticut’s towns had self-response rates at or above 60%. While last week, 28 towns had self-response rates at or above 60%, this week, 91, or 54% of Connecticut’s towns, had self-response rates at or above 60%. Tolland claimed the top spot again with a self-response rate of 72.4%. Other towns with a high self-response rate included Marlborough (71.4%), Burlington (70.7%), Cheshire (69.9%), and Simsbury (69.6%).
Read MoreRedefining normal looks differently for everyone, including us at CTData. To help us all connect, learn, and support each other during this time, we're moving some of our upcoming events online. Whether you'd like to build skills, share resources, or connect with others, join us for one of our virtual events below.
Read MoreGiven our close proximity to New York state, Connecticut has been hit hard by COVID-19. In fact, a recent New York Times article reported four of Connecticut’s metro areas in the top 15 nationally for the number of new deaths in the last two weeks: Fairfield County (#2), Hartford (#3), New Haven (#6), and Torrington (#11). Statewide, the number of confirmed cases continues to climb as testing becomes more accessible. As of Monday, April 27, Connecticut had 90,746 tests completed; 25,997 confirmed cases; 1,758 hospitalizations; and 2,012 deaths. On average, per 1000 residents, that is approximately 25.34 tests, 7.26 confirmed cases, 0.49 hospitalizations, and 0.56 deaths.
Read MoreResearch student loans and the term “crisis” tends to appear in the search results. Student loan debt has been increasing steadily as the cost of education rises in our country, with student loan debt accounting for over $1.5 trillion in 2019 compared to $260 billion in 2004. In fact, 11% of consumer debt is attributed to student loans with the average student loan debt being around $37,000.
Read MoreAs of Monday, April 20, 2020, six of Connecticut’s towns saw a week-over-week increase of more than 12%. A week ago on April 13, Windham County had the lowest self-response rate at 45.7%, putting it in last place among Connecticut’s counties. However, as of April 20 it came in second-to-last with a 50.4% self-response rate, with Litchfield County slightly lower (49.6%).
Read MoreAs of Monday, April 13, 2020, 50.3% of Connecticut residents had responded to the 2020 Census. That puts Connecticut 17th among the 50 states. Connecticut dropped 3 spots from last week and ranked 17th among the 50 states. Minnesota led the way with a rate of 58.1%, and Alaska lagged with a rate of 32.4%.
Read MoreAs unemployment numbers continue to stun Connecticut with their scale, business registration numbers are also declining. Business starts, which refer to the number of applications received by the Secretary of State’s Office for new business formations, are another way to look at the economic impact.
Read MoreAs of Tuesday, April 7, 2020, 47.6% of Connecticut residents had responded to the 2020 Census. That puts us 14th among the 50 states. This is up from 23rd on March 23. Minnesota leads the way with a rate of 55.2%, and Alaska lags with a rate of 29.4%.
Read MoreTo receive the accurate information you need during this time, you can now subscribe to our blog for a weekly roundup of our posts. Head to ctdata.org/newsletter and select "Weekly Blog Updates." You can also use an RSS feed reader like Feedly. Stay safe, stay home, stay informed!
Read MoreAs of Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 37.6% of Connecticut residents had responded to 2020 Census. That puts us 19th among the 50 states. This is up from 23rd on March 23. Wisconsin leads the way with a rate of 44.3%, and Alaska is last with a rate of 22%. Connecticut performs better than two of its neighbors, Rhode Island (35.1%) and New York (31.1%), but lags behind Massachusetts (38.3%).
Read MoreCTData realizes that it can be challenging to understand what sources to trust and where to find reliable data. We created a COVID-19 dashboard with daily updates, including the number of completed tests, confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Detailed information is available at the state and county level with the number of confirmed cases available at the town level. Data in the dashboard comes from the governor’s daily updates with data from the CT Department of Public Health (DPH).
Read More