One Year Ago…
By Jonathan Miller, Project Associate.
Tomorrow, May 4th, is one year, to the day, that I started at Market Street Services. In my first year I have learned more than I could have ever imagined. I have worked in a variety of communities, including Vestavia Hills, AL; Gwinnett County, GA; Madison, WI; Henry County, GA; and Austin, TX. While each community is unique, the one common thread that binds them all together is a commitment to make their community better – the status quo is insufficient. Such an attitude is infectious and makes coming to work an exciting endeavor.
As some you may be familiar, Harper’s Magazine, a monthly publication, publishes what’s called the “Harper’s Index.” In each issue, the index presents a number of statistics in an easily readable format. So, in a nod to my one-year anniversary I have constructed an Index reflecting national and local happenings over the past year as well as some stats about my work.
Tomorrow, May 4th, is one year, to the day, that I started at Market Street Services. In my first year I have learned more than I could have ever imagined. I have worked in a variety of communities, including Vestavia Hills, AL; Gwinnett County, GA; Madison, WI; Henry County, GA; and Austin, TX. While each community is unique, the one common thread that binds them all together is a commitment to make their community better – the status quo is insufficient. Such an attitude is infectious and makes coming to work an exciting endeavor.
As some you may be familiar, Harper’s Magazine, a monthly publication, publishes what’s called the “Harper’s Index.” In each issue, the index presents a number of statistics in an easily readable format. So, in a nod to my one-year anniversary I have constructed an Index reflecting national and local happenings over the past year as well as some stats about my work.
Difference in the number of Americans employed: +1,594,000
Number of those in Georgia: +22,200
Number of those in Atlanta: +18,800
Percentage point change in the unemployment rate in Georgia and metro Atlanta: -0.8
Change in the national average price of regular gas per gallon: -15 cents
Change in the price of regular gas in metro Atlanta per gallon: -19 cents
Number of banks that failed in the United States: 75
Number of those that were in Georgia: 17
Number of homes that were built in metro Atlanta: 69,263
Percentage change in median home value in metro Atlanta: -12.4
Change in the percentage of Atlanta homes sold for a loss: +5.7
Percentage change in the price of oil: +0.67
Percentage change in the price of gold: +7.98
Percentage change in the price of Apple stock: +68.5
Days worked for Market Street Services: 365
Number of communities visited: 5
Aggregate population of those communities: 3.7 million
Number of miles traveled: 5,000+
Number of focus groups facilitated: 9
Number of survey responses analyzed: 3,170
Number of Google searches conducted: 8,856
Percentage of those occurring on Mondays or Thursdays (the days of the week with the most queries): 38.5
Rankings for Google queries of “BLS,” “Census,” and “Wall Street Journal”: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Note: where May data was not available, the most recent month was used.
Number of those in Georgia: +22,200
Number of those in Atlanta: +18,800
Percentage point change in the unemployment rate in Georgia and metro Atlanta: -0.8
Change in the national average price of regular gas per gallon: -15 cents
Change in the price of regular gas in metro Atlanta per gallon: -19 cents
Number of banks that failed in the United States: 75
Number of those that were in Georgia: 17
Number of homes that were built in metro Atlanta: 69,263
Percentage change in median home value in metro Atlanta: -12.4
Change in the percentage of Atlanta homes sold for a loss: +5.7
Percentage change in the price of oil: +0.67
Percentage change in the price of gold: +7.98
Percentage change in the price of Apple stock: +68.5
Days worked for Market Street Services: 365
Number of communities visited: 5
Aggregate population of those communities: 3.7 million
Number of miles traveled: 5,000+
Number of focus groups facilitated: 9
Number of survey responses analyzed: 3,170
Number of Google searches conducted: 8,856
Percentage of those occurring on Mondays or Thursdays (the days of the week with the most queries): 38.5
Rankings for Google queries of “BLS,” “Census,” and “Wall Street Journal”: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Note: where May data was not available, the most recent month was used.
