Statistics in brief

Auto statistics

• 16.8 million light vehicles were sold in the U.S. in 2002, down from 17.1 million in 2001. Market share for Big 3 vehicles assembled in the U.S. and Canada was 56.9 percent in 2002, down from 58.2 percent in 2001.

Prices - December 2002

• Wholesale prices, excluding food and energy, fell 0.4 percent in December 2002 from December 2001. This is the first time in 28 years that wholesale prices have been down at the end of the year.

• Consumer prices (CPI-U), excluding food and energy, were up 1.9 percent in December 2002 from December 2001. Prices for services rose 3.2 percent while prices on goods dropped 1.5 percent over the same period.

Employment/Unemployment - December 2002

• Unemployment has increased 331,000 since December 2001.

• Private employment has fallen 438,000 since December 2001.

• Manufacturing employment is down 592,000 since December 2001.

Earnings

• Average private sector hourly earnings for production/non-supervisory workers rose 3 percent to $15.05 since December 2001. After adjusting for inflation, the increase was 0.6 percent.

Budget crisis in the states

• Worst since World War II.

• Collectively, U.S. states are facing a $50 billion gap this year and a projected gap of $60 to $85 billion for next year.

• Health care costs are 30 percent of a typical state’s budget.