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The Statistical Abstract of the United States for 2006 is now released. This 125th edition of the nation's pre-eminent data reference book, continues a tradition dating back to 1878. With 13-hundred seventy-five tables on the social, economic and political organization of the United States, along with abundant international data, the Statistical Abstract quantifies a great many aspects national life, whether it's wages and salaries, exercise and entertainment, barbequing, or remodeling the bathroom. Lars Johanson, supervising editor of the book, notes that the 2006 edition has added 80 tables on new topics, and cites the significant new categories. Four topics which account for a great number of the new tables in this edition are tables from the American Community Survey, tables on alternative medicine, Homeland Security, and internet usage. Information on purchasing the Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006 can be obtained online at www.census.gov On behalf of the U.S. Census Bureau, I'm Rick Reed in Suitland, Maryland.

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 1 on what was dropped from the new edition:
"The most notable area which was dropped from this edition is expenditures on pollution abatement, because the data series is no longer being collected by the source." (00:09)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 2 on editing decisions:
"We decide to drop tables from a new edition because a data series may no longer be collected by an agency. In some cases, we also drop a table because there’s no longer interest in that particular topic." (00:12)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 3 on what is significant new data the new edition:
"The one case, though, where we do have an expansion of data is the data about the Asian population. There is a clear example where there’s been more detailed data available not only from the Census Bureau but from other government agencies, and we’ve been expanding our tables to account for that." (00:14)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 4 on the Statistical Abstract’s popularity:
"Often, I’ll go into a branch of a public library; in almost every case, I have found out that a copy of the Abstract is available, but the reference librarian has the copy either buried in a desk drawer, or they have it right behind desk because they’re afraid somebody’s going to walk out with it."(00:17)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 5 on what may be surprising data:
"Maybe people will think that crime is higher than it ever was, but actually, when you take a look at the violent crime rate, which is based upon the number of people in the U.S. population, it has actually dropped dramatically since the early 1990s."(00:15)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 6 on data trends:
"Energy statistics, of course, where very popular at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, then it went into lull for a while, and now, questions about energy are coming back again." (00:10)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 7 on internet connections:
"Almost six out of every 10 households with income of one-hundred fifty thousand dollars or more have a high-speed connection. That is, with cable modem or digital subscriber line. That compares to families with less than fifteen-thousand dollars, where 29 percent of those households have a high-speed connection."(00:18)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 8 on suppliers of new data tables:
"We add new tables based upon the availability of data sources. For example, the data on alternative medicine was a new question added by the National Center for Health Statistics."(00:11)

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Lars Johanson, supervising editor, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, cut 9 on suppliers of new data tables:
"The Census Bureau doesn’t collect directly the data about the number of households owning pets. We rely upon a private organization called the American Veterinary Medical Association. And in 2001, their survey indicated that 36 percent of households have dogs and 32 percent have cats." (00:17)