19 August 2020

USA FACTS: PPP DATA + WHO REPORTS USE OF FORCE TO THE FBI? + SPENDING FOR COVID-19 RECOVERY + AND FINALLY...

A TROVE OF PPP DATA

USAFacts collected all of its reports on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in one place, making it easy to get the data on this unprecedented program. Unsure where to start? Check out the “Questions to Ask." There’s also new, in-depth analysis of how the Small Business Administration (SBA) has allocated loans so far. 

  • The second round for PPP loans closed August 8. The data suggests that some states with businesses that received a smaller proportion the first time around, like Florida and California, received more the second time.
     
  • While the SBA approved $172 billion in loans during round two, most of those were small loans (under $150,000), instead of the larger sums approved in round one. These loans weren't distributed according to coronavirus case levels. Having a higher case count did not automatically mean more loans to a specific area.
     
  • Right now, it’s unclear how many jobs the loans helped save. But, states with high job losses relative to their population, like Hawaii and New York, received more PPP aid per 100 people than states with fewer reported losses, like Mississippi and Idaho.
     
Check out the colorful charts and interactive visualization to see how PPP loans have been approved by region, county, and city.


WHO REPORTS USE OF FORCE TO THE FBI?
In 2015, an advisory board to the FBI recommended that the agency develop a new data collection on shootings by police officers. The collection effort began last year, and while the FBI wants more participation before publishing specifics, here’s what’s known so far.
  • Law enforcement agencies representing 41% of the nation’s sworn officers provided use-of-force data to the FBI in 2019. At present, 27% of the nation’s federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies are reporting data.




     
  • The FBI released a list of agencies that submitted information on use of force — or said they didn’t have any. The Chicago Police Department, the nation’s second-largest police department after New York City, is the biggest department reporting data. It had 13,138 sworn officers in 2018.
     
  • Want to understand the differences between state, county, and municipal police? USAFacts has a new report explaining the distinctions between these entities and their responsibilities.
See more on the FBI reporting process here.



SPENDING FOR COVID-19 RECOVERY 

Here’s the latest from the COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Hub: the federal government spent $626.5 billion in July. That’s down from June, but 69% higher than what it spent in July last year. 





AND FINALLY...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has data on what Americans did in their leisure time last year. Numbers for how people are spending their free time during the pandemic are not yet available, but it will be interesting to monitor for any major changes.

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