---
title: "Data Feed: Millennials’ college payoff, Marcellus Shale job boom, global food waste"
description: "A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers."
date: "2014-02-28"
authors:
  - name: "George Gao"
    job_title: "Former "
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/george-gao/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/02/28/data-feed-millennials-college-education-payoff-marcellus-shale-job-boom-global-food-waste/"
---

# Data Feed: Millennials’ college payoff, Marcellus Shale job boom, global food waste

*A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.*

**Economy **[For Millennials, higher education really pays off](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/02/28/for-millennials-a-bachelors-degree-continues-to-pay-off-but-a-masters-earns-even-more/), Pew Research Center's Fact Tank [Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.4% in Q4 2013 in new estimate](http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm), BEA** **[Federal budget deficit falls to smallest level since 2008](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/business/economy/federal-deficit-falls-to-smallest-level-since-2008.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0&wpisrc=nl_wonk), New York Times [Realty check: Interactive guide to America’s housing market](http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/02/us-house-prices), The Economist [Jobless rates down in 43 states in 2013](http://www.bls.gov/news.release/srgune.nr0.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics [Effects of Marcellus Shale gas boom on employment, wages in Pa.](http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2014/article/the-marcellus-shale-gas-boom-in-pennsylvania.htm), BLS [The stock-picking skills of SEC employees](http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/uploadedFiles/RajgopalSECtradingpaper.PDF), U. Va. via [WaPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/27/the-incredible-stock-picking-ability-of-sec-employees/) [Attracting customers and new business still top challenge in the U.S.](http://www.gallup.com/poll/167660/small-businesses-face-operational-regulatory-challenges.aspx), Gallup [U.S.-NAFTA trade via pipeline up 6.4% from previous year](http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/press_releases/bts010_14), Bureau of Transportation Statistics

**Politics** [Americans still doubt Mideast peace is in the cards](http://www.gallup.com/poll/167657/americans-doubt-mideast-peace-cards.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=All%20Gallup%20Headlines), Gallup

**Health & Society** [The young noncitizen population in the U.S.](http://www.census.gov/newsroom/cspan/noncitizen/), Census Bureau [Mapping America’s lightning-caused misery](http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2014/02/mapping-americas-lightning-caused-misery/8524/), The Atlantic Cities [Mapping New York’s traffic crashes](http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/mapping-new-yorks-traffic-accidents/8516/), The Atlantic Cities [Science vs. journalism, in one chart](http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/02/27/the-problem-with-journalism/), The Washington Post

**International **[Venezuelans saw political instability before protests](http://www.gallup.com/poll/167663/venezuelans-saw-political-instability-protests.aspx), Gallup [Over 5% of world’s population suffer from disabling hearing loss](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/), WHO [What’s the story with food loss and waste?](http://worldbank.tumblr.com/post/78018023514/whats-the-story-with-food-loss-and-waste) World Bank [Euro area unemployment rate stable at 12%](http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-28022014-AP/EN/3-28022014-AP-EN.PDF); [inflation stable at 0.8%](http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-28022014-BP/EN/2-28022014-BP-EN.PDF), Eurostat [Japan's avg. monthly expenditures per household up 1.1% from last year](http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/156.htm), Stat Bureau [India GDP up 4.7% in Q3 2013 from previous year in estimate](http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/nad_pr_28feb14.pdf), Central Statistics Office

**Random Sample** [Charting the price of pizza in five big cities](http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/02/21/280745564/the-price-of-a-pizza-in-237-u-s-neighborhoods), NPR

*Got new data to share? Send it to us via email *[*facttank@pewresearch.org*](mailto:facttank@pewresearch.org)* or Tweet us *[*@FactTank*](http://www.twitter.com/facttank)*.*