Statistics Illustrate Growths In Industries

OBSERVER STAFF REPORT

Nearly 110 million people in the United States used a cellular telephone in 2000 compared with about 5 million subscribers in 1990, according to the "Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2001" released this week by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

"Over the decade, the average monthly cell phone bill decreased from $81 to $45," said Lars Johanson, technical coordinator of the annual publication.

"Another indicator of the spectacular growth of the industry was the jump in its employees, from about 21,000 to 185,000," he added.

The "Abstract," published every year since 1878, features new tables with data from Census 2000 and revised economic census tables that use the new North American Industry Classification System categories.

The new edition has more than 1,400 tables and charts with statistics from the most recent year or period available. It also features a new section on hotels and restaurants.

Other highlights of the publication are as follows:

• In the spring of 1999, 46 million adults said they attended a musical performance sometime in the previous year, 35 million surfed the Internet, 32 million did crossword puzzles, 11 million played bingo and 7 million flew a kite.
  
  
• Also, in the spring of 1999, 6.2 million householders said they remodeled their bathrooms in the prior year; 4.7 million redid their kitchens; and 3.4 million refinished their bedrooms. About 2.5 million households added a deck, porch or patio.
  
  
• Teenage birth rates (ages 15 to 19) fell to an all-time low in 1999, 49.6 births per 1,000. This was 20 percent lower than the peak reported in 1991 when the rate was 62.1 births per 1,000.
  
  
• U.S. consumption of red meat and poultry increased from 63 billion pounds in 1990 to 76 billion pounds in 2000, a 21 percent increase.
  
  
• Per capita consumption of caloric sweeteners (sugar, syrups and honey) increased from 137 pounds in 1990 to 158 pounds in 1999.
  
  
• More than 19 million drivers were stopped by police at least once in 1999; major reasons were: speeding (51 percent), vehicle defects (11 percent) and record checks (9 percent).
  
  
• Fatalities in alcohol-related crashes declined steadily between 1990 and 1999, from nearly half of all accidents to a ratio of less than 4-in-10.
  
  
• About 1 million people were involved in violent acts between intimate partners (current and former spouses and boyfriends and girlfriends) in 1998, down from more than 1.2 million such acts five years earlier.
  
  
• As of February 2000, people had worked for their current employer a median of three and one-half years. Fewer than 1-in-10 workers were with the same employer for 20 years or more.
  

The 2001 Statistical Abstract is available from the U.S Government Printing Office by calling 202-512-1800.