A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.
Politics
What Americans want to see addressed in State of the Union speech, Gallup
Americans fretful over future, Obama’s abilities, with topline, WSJ/ NBC News
Obama’s puzzle: Economy rarely better, approval rarely worse, The New York Times
Nonwhites more positive about state of U.S., whites less positive, Gallup
Hawaii, D.C. most approving of Obama; Wyoming, West Virginia least approving, Gallup
Democrats most likely to watch SOTU; GOP leads in congressional preference, Fox News
State of the Union: Frequently used words, The Wall Street Journal
Charting the ideology of State of the Union addresses, The Washington Post
State of the Union: famous firsts, Bloomberg
Stats of the Union: Interactive on America’s people, politics and economy, The Economist
Christie numbers tank as scandals continue, NBC News
Economy
Jobless rates down in 39 states, up in two, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Consumer confidence index increases again, The Conference Board
How gender, ‘crowding’ and recession affect mid-career job promotions, BLS
U.S. banks prune more branches, The Wall Street Journal
17 charts about economic inequality, The New Republic
Why real wages are falling as profits are rising, The New York Times
Income inequality in U.S. means princes don’t go after Cinderellas, The New York Times
As temperatures drop, home searches rise, Trulia
Super Bowl spending driven by automotive ads, The Wall Street Journal
Health & Society
Medical bills squeezing budgets in more than a quarter of U.S. families, CDC
‘Global atlas’ identifies one-in-ten worldwide who need end-of-life palliative care, WHO
The Great Recession may have dinged our wallets, but it improved our diets, DemoMemo
Who fears vaccines and why? Social Science Research Network
Strong stock market put college endowments back in the black, Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Divorces rise as economy recovers, study finds, Los Angeles Times
Science & Technology
Latest ‘State of the Internet’ report, Akamai
What do young scientists think? New survey offers answers, Science
Europeans split on further investment in space exploration (47% v. 46%), Eurobarometer
International
Two decades of unemployment data in 177 countries, GIFed, Quartz
In Germany, older voters have growing influence on election result, Destatis
Business investment rate and household saving rate in EU, Eurostat
Britain’s GDP up 0.7% in Q4 2013, early estimates show, Office for National Statistics
Crime pays in Indian elections, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Trends in intolerant attitudes in Western Europe, RAND Corporation
Argentina’s plunging peso is not alone, The Economist
Got new data to share? Send it to us via email facttank@pewresearch.org or Tweet us @FactTank.
