A NOTE ON METHODS: Sightline's economic security index is derived from four components: poverty rates, child poverty rates, unemployment rates, and inflation-adjusted median household incomes. Each component represents an important and distinct facet of economic security; data are credible and available on an annual basis at state and provincial levels; and the components tend to vary in tandem, thereby mitigating statistical anomalies. The components are aggregated using a method similar to that used to calculate the Index of Leading Economic Indicators. Each component in the index is assigned a weighting factor based on its statistical variability; wide fluctuations earn a component a lower weighting. The year-to-year changes in each component are weighted and summed, and then put on a scale in which the figure for 1990 is equal to 100. In practice, a one point increase in the economic security index is roughly equivalent to a one percentage point decline in poverty, child poverty, and unemployment.
Poverty in the United States from US Census Bureau, Historical Poverty Tables, "Table 21: Number of Poor and Poverty Rate By State".
Child poverty in the United States for 2005 through 2008 from US Census Bureau, American Community Survey’s reports, "R1704. Percent of Children Under 18 Years Below Poverty Level in the Past 12 Months (For Whom Poverty Status is Determined)." Earlier child poverty figures from US Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Sightline also consulted the following sources: US Current Population Survey, March Supplement data, (including "Table 23: Single Years of Age: Poverty Status of People in 1999," "POV46: Poverty Status by State: 2002: Below 100% and 125% of Poverty: People Under 18 Years of Age," and "POV46: Poverty Status by State: 2003: Below 100% and 125% of Poverty: People Under 18 Years of Age,”), at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics; US Census Bureau, "Poverty in the United States: 2002"; and the American Community Survey's annual data profiles. Some historical figures for poverty and child poverty are estimated by Sightline based on consulting several other US Census Bureau sources.
Median income in United States from US Census Bureau, Historical Income Tables: Households, Table H-8: Median Household Income by State. All figures are adjusted for inflation into 2007 dollars. Sightline also consulted the following sources: Carmen Denavas, Housing and Household Economics Statistics Division, US Census Bureau, Washington, DC, private communication, May 5, 2003; American Community Survey’s annual data profiles, "Table 3: Selected Economic Characteristics"; and US Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
Unemployment in United States from US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
Poverty and child poverty in Canada from Statistics Canada, "Table 202-0802: Persons in Low Income, Annual," CANSIM. The Canadian "poverty rate"refers to the share of those in households that earn less than the low-income cutoff, before taxes and transfers. Low-income cutoffs are not directly comparable to the US poverty rate, both because different income levels are used for each and because the low-income cutoff is adjusted for the cost of living in rural communities, small towns, and cities.
Unemployment in Canada from Statistics Canada, "Table 282-0086: Labour force survey estimates (LFS), supplementary unemployment rates by sex and age group, annual," CANSIM. Sightline used rate "R3,"which is most comparable to the US rate. This rate is as much as 0.7 percent lower than the official rates reported for Canada and provinces. For more information see Statistics Canada, "The UR Gap: Small Differences in Measurement May Matter," Labour Force Update, Catalogue No. 71-005-XPB.
Median income in Canada from Statistics Canada, "Table 202-0201: Distribution of Market Income, by Economic Family," CANSIM. All figures are adjusted for inflation into 2006 dollars.
(Sources updated September 2009.)