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Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Officials for Violent Repression and Corruption
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2026:* * *
Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Officials for Violent Repression and Corruption
First Designation of IRGC-Linked Digital Asset Exchange
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Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took additional action against Iranian officials responsible for the regime's brutal crackdown on its own people. Among the officials sanctioned today is Eskandar Momeni Kalagari --Iran's Minister of the Interior--who oversees the murderous Law Enforcement ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2026: * * * Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Officials for Violent Repression and Corruption First Designation of IRGC-Linked Digital Asset Exchange * Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took additional action against Iranian officials responsible for the regime's brutal crackdown on its own people. Among the officials sanctioned today is Eskandar Momeni Kalagari --Iran's Minister of the Interior--who oversees the murderous Law EnforcementForces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF), a key entity responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protestors.
OFAC also designated Babak Morteza Zanjani, a criminal Iranian investor who previously embezzled billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenue that rightfully belonged to the Iranian people and was never fully recovered. Freed from imprisonment in order to launder money for the regime, Zanjani has provided financial backing for major projects that support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian regime more broadly.
Additionally, for the first time, OFAC designated two digital asset exchanges linked to Zanjanithat have processed large volumes of funds associated with IRGC-linked counterparties. This marks OFAC's first designation of a digital asset exchange for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy.
"Rather than build a prosperous Iran, the regime has chosen to squander what remains of the nation's oil revenues on nuclear weapons development, missiles, and terrorist proxies around the world," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. "President Trump stands with the people of Iran and has ordered Treasury to sanction members of the regime. Treasury will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people. This includes the regime's attempts to exploit digital assets to evade sanctions and finance cybercriminal operations. Like rats on a sinking ship, the regime is frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, Treasury will act."
Today's action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13553, which authorizes sanctions on certain persons with respect to serious human rights abuses by the Government of Iran; E.O. 13224, as amended, a counterterrorism authority; and E.O. 13902, which targets Iran's financial, petroleum, and petrochemical sectors. This action is in furtherance of the President's National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), which undergirds Treasury's continued campaign of maximum economic pressure against Iran's shadow banking, money laundering, and sanctions evasion networks and has impacted the Iranian regime's ability to sell its petroleum to support its destabilizing behavior and recoup those funds. In 2025, OFAC sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels, and aircraft as part of this campaign.
SECURITY FORCES killing DEMONSTRATORS AND LEADING COMMUNICATIONS BLACKOUT
OFAC is designating multiple senior Iranian officials who oversee elements of the security forces that are violently repressing the Iranian people, including Iran's Minister of Interior, Eskandar Momeni Kalagari (Momeni). Momeni is responsible for organizing domestic security services and oversees the LEF, whose actions have led to mass killings, arrests, and forced disappearances.
The IRGC Intelligence Organization, under the leadership of Majid Khademi, has played an instrumental role in violently suppressing protests. The IRGC Intelligence Organization has underpinned the Iranian security forces' national campaign of mass violence, arbitrary detentions, and intimidation aimed at crushing Iran's protest moment.
Ghorban Mohammad Valizadeh serves as commander of the IRGC's Seyyad al-Shohada Corps in Tehran province. Tehran province has experienced some of the deadliest violence since the protests began, with children among the dead. The number of demonstrators killed in Iran has overwhelmed local medical services, with morgues storing dead bodies in the streets and the corpses of those killed by Iranian security services stacked in pick-up trucks and freight containers.
Hossein Zare Kamali is the IRGC commander of Hamadan province, where the families of those killed in protests have been forced to bury their dead without funerals and where security forces have sought to ransom the bodies of dead protestors.
Hamid Damghani is the IRGC commander of Gilan province, where some of the regime's worst atrocities have occurred. Security forces in Gilan province have killed hundreds of demonstrators, firing live ammunition at crowds of unarmed activists. In early January, security forces, led by the IRGC, shot dozens of unarmed protestors attempting to flee a fire that engulfed the Rash bazaar.
Mehdi Hajian is the commander of the LEF for Kermanshah province, where some of the earliest regime-orchestrated violence against protestors occurred. Under Hajian's command, Kermanshah's LEF has worked with the IRGC and Basij Resistance Force to carry out the regime's crackdown, which has include mass killings and sexual violence against protestors.
Eskandar Momeni Kalagari is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13553 for being an official of the Government of Iran (including members of paramilitary organizations) who is responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses against persons in Iran or Iranian citizens or residents, or the family members of the foregoing, on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran.
Majid Khademi, Ghorban Mohammad Valizadeh, Hossein Zare Kamali, and Hamid Damghani are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13553 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Mehdi Hajian is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13553 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
use of digital assets to evade sanctions
Babak Morteza Zanjani (Zanjani) is an Iranian businessman and sanctions evader. He is active in multiple fields including hospitality, transportation, technology, financial services, and oil exports. In March 2016, Zanjani was sentenced to death in Iran for embezzling billions of dollars from Iran's National Oil Company, funds that rightfully belong to the Iranian people. His sentence was commuted in 2024, and in April 2025, Zanjani served as a financial backer of one of Iran's largest railway investments in history.
Zedcex Exchange, Ltd. (Zedcex) and Zedxion Exchange, Ltd. (Zedxion) are two UK-registered digital asset exchanges with connections to Zanjani. Since its registration in August 2022, Zedcex has processed over $94 billion in transactions. When Zedxion was registered in May 2021, it initially listed Zanjani as its director. Multiple Zedcex and Zedxion-attributed addresses have processed funds for wallets linked to the IRGC.
OFAC is designating Babak Morteza Zanjani, Zedcex Exchange, Ltd., and Zedxion Exchange, Ltd. pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the financial sector of the economy of Iran. Additionally, OFAC is also designating Zedcex Exchange, Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange, Ltd. pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC.
SUPPORT FOR INTERNET FREEDOM IN IRAN
The United States supports the Iranian people in their protests against the corrupt and repressive regime in Tehran. As Iran's violent crackdown and internet blackout continue, Treasury encourages relevant parties to keep in mind the longstanding general license, often referred to as GL D-2, that facilitates the Iranian people's access to the internet and is included in the Code of Federal Regulations at 31 CFR Sec. 560.540. The U.S. government stands with the Iranian people and will continue to expedite related requests for guidance and, as necessary and appropriate, specific licenses. For more information on this authorization please see OFAC's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), including FAQ 1110.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons.
Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis. OFAC's Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC's enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions. In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or otherwise blocked persons. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, or to submit a request, please refer to OFAC's guidance on Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List.
Click here for more information on the persons designated and any property identified as blocked property today (https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260130).
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Original text here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0375
National Park Service: Explore Park Science and Stewardship at Rocky Mountain National Park's Biennial Research Conference
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2026:* * *
Explore Park Science and Stewardship at Rocky Mountain National Park's Biennial Research Conference
Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) invites you to explore research, monitoring, and management during the Biennial Research Conference "Park Stewardship: From Discovery to Decision" on March 4-5 at The Holiday Inn in Estes Park. Scientific research is an integral part of science-informed decision making and adaptive management at RMNP. The park utilizes a ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2026: * * * Explore Park Science and Stewardship at Rocky Mountain National Park's Biennial Research Conference Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) invites you to explore research, monitoring, and management during the Biennial Research Conference "Park Stewardship: From Discovery to Decision" on March 4-5 at The Holiday Inn in Estes Park. Scientific research is an integral part of science-informed decision making and adaptive management at RMNP. The park utilizes acollaborative process in which park staff and research partners work together to conduct research to address management questions.
The Biennial Research Conference is presented by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. It is free and open to all who are interested in attending. No pre-registration is required.
Conference highlights include 27 oral presentations by research partners and park staff, a poster session highlighting over 20 research and public engagement activities in the park, an Alpine Ecosystem Question and Answer Panel with park staff and partners, and a Conversation Cafe in which members of the public can engage in structured, small-group discussions about vital wetland ecosystems in the park.
Oral presentations are organized into sessions covering related subjects. Sessions will focus on forestry and wildfire, park histories and cultural resources, research conducted by Rocky Mountain Conservancy fellows, wildlife studies, long term monitoring projects and management applications, and alpine ecosystem research and stewardship. Oral presentations in the alpine ecosystem session and following subject expert panel will also be available to attend virtually.
New to this year will be an in-person screening of the Alpine Ecosystem oral session and panel held at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center in Grand Lake. This event is free and open to the public to provide an opportunity for engagement with the conference for the Grand Lake community and will include opening remarks from park staff. The screening will take place in the Auditorium of the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, located at 16018 US Highway 34, Grand Lake, CO.
Conference events begin at 8 a.m. each day and conclude at 5 p.m. on March 4 and 4:30 pm on March 5. For a complete schedule of events, to access the wetland ecosystems session virtually, and other accessibility information, visit: go.nps.gov/RMNPConference2026
The conference will take place in the Ballroom of The Holiday Inn Estes Park, located at 101 S Saint Vrain Avenue, Estes Park, CO. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park please visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park Information Office at (970) 586-1206.
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Original text here: https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/news/explore-park-science-and-stewardship-at-rocky-mountain-national-park-s-biennial-research-conference.htm
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond: What Businesses Are Saying - Cautiously Optimistic With a Hint of Wariness
RICHMOND, Virginia, Jan. 31 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond issued the following Regional Matters analysis by R. Andrew Bauer, Renee Haltom and Matthew Martin:* * *
What Businesses Are Saying: Cautiously Optimistic With a Hint of Wariness
In the lead-up to the December Federal Open Market Committee cycle, we heard that the economy was chugging along with disproportionate support from high-income consumers and artificial intelligence (AI). Many firms noted they were hesitant to invest or hire too significantly going into 2026; uncertainty and costs remained too high. Consumers pushed ... Show Full Article RICHMOND, Virginia, Jan. 31 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond issued the following Regional Matters analysis by R. Andrew Bauer, Renee Haltom and Matthew Martin: * * * What Businesses Are Saying: Cautiously Optimistic With a Hint of Wariness In the lead-up to the December Federal Open Market Committee cycle, we heard that the economy was chugging along with disproportionate support from high-income consumers and artificial intelligence (AI). Many firms noted they were hesitant to invest or hire too significantly going into 2026; uncertainty and costs remained too high. Consumers pushedback against price increases, squeezing margins. Labor availability was improving, but skill and geographic mismatches continued, and there were no signs that either hiring or firing would pick up soon. You can read more in December's "What Businesses Are Saying." (https://www.richmondfed.org/region_communities/regional_data_analysis/regional_matters/2025/what_businesses_are_saying_economy_chugging_along)
In this post, we draw from more recent conversations, from mid-December to mid-January. While conditions remained largely similar to the prior cycle, we note a few shifts, which we discuss below.
Overall Momentum: Firms Feel on Sturdier Footing, but Still Hesitate to Make Moves
Lean firms feel increasingly confident in their ability to navigate uncertainty. Business leaders commonly describe themselves as cautiously optimistic. When pressed, they credit both external and internal factors. To some extent, firms expect 2026 to be more stable than 2025, without external shocks of the magnitude of "Liberation Day." To a greater extent, business leaders seem increasingly confident in their own resilience. They faced 2025's challenges and made it to the other side. They've fine-tuned supply chains and operations and identified efficiencies. They are running lean, which makes them feel more agile in the face of elevated uncertainty. As a reminder, conversations went through mid-January; it is not yet clear how more recent events have impacted their sentiment.
Potential demand boosts fuel optimism as well. Data centers and AI-related businesses continue to see strong demand. Contacts in the leisure and hospitality industry point to large nationwide events as promising engines of demand, such as the World Cup and America's 250th anniversary. In the manufacturing space, a few firms flag positive signals. One sees signs that the yearslong lull in equipment orders, which followed a strong pull forward during the pandemic, may finally be coming to an end. A few note that the equipment replacement cycle could force some demand this year. Across the board, there's an expectation that coming tax stimulus should support consumer spending.
Increased optimism for 2026 does not necessarily mean firms are making moves. Overall, business leaders seem cautiously optimistic in the sense that they've adapted to the sense of instability and, to use their own words, are "less traumatized." As a result, they are generally more upbeat. Investment seems stronger than last year but remains restrained. A focus on efficiency may also be limiting how much optimism translates into spending.
Consumers are still spending but with increasing sensitivity. Contacts share that consumers are increasingly cost-conscious -- taking advantage of discounts and trading down where they can. Most consumer-facing firms share that consumers are still willing to spend: They're simply prioritizing what offers the most value (i.e., the best "bang for their buck") and what they value the most (i.e., their personal priorities).
Rate cuts come up infrequently. In general, few contacts bring up rate cuts on their own. When asked, many businesses, especially within real estate, note that additional rate cuts would be helpful on the margin. Some flag that the potential disconnect between movements in the federal funds rate and long-term rates can make it challenging to discern how cuts would impact their plans in practice.
Labor Markets: Low-Hire, Low-Fire Seems Set to Continue
Companies maintain steady headcount or downsize via attrition. Even with cautious optimism, it is rare to hear about significant hiring plans. After trimming in 2025, most firms plan to hold steady. Some firms plan to continue downsizing via attrition. This lean stance has been challenging for entry-level job candidates who struggle to find employment.
Wage pressure is generally easing. Even as the labor market loosened in 2025, firms often reported wage growth above pre-COVID-19 levels. More recently, wage growth is seemingly cooling, falling back down to pre-COVID-19 norms.
Pricing: Margins Still Squeezed From Both Ends
Cost pressure continues. Most firms continue to point to rising costs from the same drivers, such as utilities and various forms of insurance. Of note, fewer contacts bring up tariffs on their own when discussing cost pressures, although conversations occurred prior to the recent threat of new tariffs.
Customers resist price increases. Many business-to-consumer (B2C) firms note they feel very little wiggle room on price, as customers are increasingly price sensitive. This is particularly the case for smaller firms. Some firms note discounting was necessary to move inventory during the holiday season. A few business-to-business (B2B) firms also note resistance to further price increases -- a shift from prior cycles during which B2B firms had generally found it easier to pass along costs than B2C firms.
Tariff costs are still making their way through the system. Several firms that report customer resistance to price increases still plan to slowly pass on tariff costs to the extent possible. They aim to make the increases as unnoticeable as possible, spreading them out over time and a broad set of items. Some share increased pressure to pass on costs given their stockpiled pre-tariff inventory is dwindling. A few note they've done all they can to cut other costs or offset with efficiencies and see no choice left but to raise prices.
Efficiency gains help some firms navigate squeezed margins. Most of these efficiencies are not coming from AI. One firm reports they've sold underutilized assets. Another has adjusted their pay structure to improve incentives for higher productivity. Several note that productivity investments during the post-pandemic labor shortage, such as automation and streamlining of processes, have given them some breathing room. Trimming vacant positions to reduce headcount has also helped. While not widespread, a few firms mentioned layoffs as a cost-cutting measure.
Some larger firms are focused on winning back customers. Since the post-pandemic inflation began, many consumer-facing firms reported rising prices and revenue but shrinking volumes. Tariffs exacerbated this. Some of those firms now share they are focused on winning back market share by refining product offerings. It's unclear whether the drive for volume will eventually lead to price discounts.
Looking Forward: Where Are We Headed?
This coming cycle, we'll continue to monitor how conditions evolve on both sides of our dual mandate. How do firms thread the needle between rising costs and increased price sensitivity from customers? Do any firms start turning to labor as a cost-cutting lever? What would it take for firms to start hiring again? Do interest rate cuts start to move the needle more broadly? Do firms retain their sense of optimism, and does it begin to translate to more forward-leaning decisions?
Combined with widely available data, our in-house surveys, and the Beige Book, this on-the-ground sensing will help shape our understanding of the economy today and where it is headed.
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Views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond or the Federal Reserve System.
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Original text here: https://www.richmondfed.org/region_communities/regional_data_analysis/regional_matters/2026/what_businesses_are_saying_cautiously_optimistic_hint_of_wariness
Fed Issues Statement by Governor Christopher J. Waller
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The Federal Reserve issued the following statement on Jan. 30, 2026 by Governor Christopher J. Waller:* * *
Statement by Governor Christopher J. Waller
I dissented at the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) after concluding that cutting the policy rate by 25 basis points was the appropriate stance of policy. Three cuts to the policy rate last year have moved it closer to a neutral setting but monetary policy is still restricting economic activity, and economic data make it clear to me further easing is needed.
First, in contrast to the continued ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The Federal Reserve issued the following statement on Jan. 30, 2026 by Governor Christopher J. Waller: * * * Statement by Governor Christopher J. Waller I dissented at the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) after concluding that cutting the policy rate by 25 basis points was the appropriate stance of policy. Three cuts to the policy rate last year have moved it closer to a neutral setting but monetary policy is still restricting economic activity, and economic data make it clear to me further easing is needed. First, in contrast to the continuedsolid growth in economic activity, the labor market remains weak. Despite ticking down in its most recent reading, the unemployment rate has risen since the middle of last year. Payroll gains in 2025 were very weak. Compared to the prior ten-year average of about 1.9 million jobs created per year, payrolls increased just under 600,000 for 2025. And, last year's data will be revised downward soon to likely show that there was virtually no growth in payroll employment in 2025. Zero. Zip. Nada.
Let this sink in for a moment--zero job growth versus an average of almost 2 million for the 10 years prior to 2025. This does not remotely look like a healthy labor market. While lower labor supply was surely a factor, it also indicates considerable weakness in labor demand. Employers are reluctant to fire workers, but also very reluctant to hire. I have heard in multiple outreach meetings of planned layoffs in 2026. This indicates to me that there is considerable doubt about future employment growth and suggests that a substantial deterioration in the labor market is a significant risk.
Second, though inflation is elevated from tariff effects, appropriate monetary policy is to "look through" these effects as long as inflation expectations are anchored, which they are. Inflation excluding tariff effects is running close to the FOMC's 2 percent target and on a path to sustainably reach that goal.
With total inflation excluding tariff effects close to our target at just slightly above 2 percent and a weak labor market, the policy rate should be closer to neutral, which the median FOMC participant estimates is 3 percent, and not where we are--50 to 75 basis points above 3 percent. I favored reducing the policy rate to strengthen the labor market and guard against a deterioration that would be harder to address once it has begun.
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Original text here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/waller20260130a.htm
FCC Proposes Additional Modernizations to Agency's TRS Rules
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The Federal Communications Commission issued the following statement on Jan. 30, 2026, by Chairman Brendan Carr:* * *
FCC Proposes Additional Modernizations to Agency's TRS Rules
STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN BRENDAN CARR
Re: Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Misuse of Internet Protocol Relay Service, CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, 12-38, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (January 29, 2026).
Last year marked the 35th Anniversary of the Americans ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The Federal Communications Commission issued the following statement on Jan. 30, 2026, by Chairman Brendan Carr: * * * FCC Proposes Additional Modernizations to Agency's TRS Rules STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN BRENDAN CARR Re: Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Misuse of Internet Protocol Relay Service, CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, 12-38, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (January 29, 2026). Last year marked the 35th Anniversary of the Americanswith Disabilities Act. The FCC plays a critical role in implementing and enforcing the ADA's requirements, including for Telecommunications Relay Services, which allow deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech impaired individuals to place or receive telephone calls in a functionally equivalent way.
Last fall, we kicked off a proceeding to modernize analog TRS. At the time, I said it was time for the agency to take a first principles approach to accessibility to ensure that the FCC's rules are aligned with modern technology. The technological advancements that necessitated a fresh look at analog TRS also impact IP-based TRS. With today's item, we continue the work we started last year by proposing targeted reforms to Internet-based forms of TRS. This is what I'm calling TRS modernization part two, and this action supports our broader effort to encourage the IP transition. As we make the transition, we are mindful of consumer protection provisions and necessary updates to them like those we propose today.
Principally, we seek comment on changes to improve the provision of IP Relay and Video Relay Service. We also seek comment on streamlining our rules and deleting or updating outdated rules that no longer reflect reality. I look forward to a robust record in this proceeding.
For their great work on this item, I would like to thank Eduard Bartholme, Lisa Wilson Edwards, Michael Scott, William David Wallace, and Joshua Mendelsohn from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. I would also like to thank staff from the Office of General Counsel, Office of Economics and Analytics, Office of the Managing Director, Office of Communications Business Opportunities, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Enforcement Bureau for their contributions to this item.
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Original text here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-4A2.pdf
Census Bureau: 'Social & Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth - 2023'
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Census Bureau issued the following report (No. ACS-62) on Jan. 28, 2026, by Lydia R Anderson, Tayelor Valerio and Chanell Washington entitled "Social and Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth: 2023."Here are excerpts:
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INTRODUCTION
This report looks at the socioeconomic characteristics of unmarried women in 2023 who had given birth in the last year. While the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) provides data on several maternal characteristics as well as more detailed information about the pregnancy, the ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Census Bureau issued the following report (No. ACS-62) on Jan. 28, 2026, by Lydia R Anderson, Tayelor Valerio and Chanell Washington entitled "Social and Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth: 2023." Here are excerpts: * * * INTRODUCTION This report looks at the socioeconomic characteristics of unmarried women in 2023 who had given birth in the last year. While the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) provides data on several maternal characteristics as well as more detailed information about the pregnancy, theU.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) provides other characteristics not available in administrative birth records./1,2
Data from administrative birth records from the NVSS, which is under the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), show that the birth rate for unmarried women peaked in 2007 and 2008 at 51.8 births per 1,000 unmarried females aged 15 to 44. In 2022, it was down to 37.2 births per 1,000 unmarried females aged 15 to 44. Around 4 in 10 births (39.8 percent) in 2022 were to unmarried women./3
However, that does not necessarily mean they were to unpartnered women, as nonmarital births have been increasingly occurring in cohabiting unions./4
The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey found that among women with a first birth from 2020 to 2022, 25.4 percent were living with an unmarried partner at the time of their first birth, up from 21.7 percent during the 2000-2004 period./5
According to an earlier Census Bureau report, the percentage of children living with two unmarried parents rose from 2.9 percent in 2007 to 4.4 percent of all children in 2019. Furthermore, 10.9 percent of children under the age of 1 lived with two unmarried parents in 2019./6
Increases in children living with two unmarried parents could be related to a variety of factors: the normalization of cohabitation, increasing selectivity in who marries, and increasing age at first marriage, among others./7
Past research found that while median age at first cohabitation stayed the same between 1995 and 2015, median age at first marriage and first birth increased during that period./8
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1 The U.S. Census Bureau has reviewed this data product to ensure appropriate access, use, and disclosure avoidance protection of the confidential source data used to produce this product (Data Management System [DMS] number: P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
2 The NVSS collects data on births to U.S. residents in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia from birth certificates.
3 Michelle J. K. Osterman, Brady E. Hamilton, Joyce A. Martin, Anne K. Driscoll, and Claudia P. Valenzuela, "Births: Final Data for 2022," National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 73, No. 2, National Vital Statistics System, Hyattsville, MD, 2024,
4 Sally C. Curtin, Stephanie J. Ventura, and Gladys Martinez, "Recent Declines in Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States," NCHS Data Brief, No. 162, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD, 2014,
5 Refer to Table 4 of "Fertility of Women in the United States: 2022" at
6 Lydia R. Anderson, Paul F. Hemez, and Rose M. Kreider, "Living Arrangements of Children: 2019," Household Economic Studies, P70-174, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2022,
7 Pamela J. Smock and Christine R. Schwartz, "The Demography of Families: A Review of Patterns and Change," Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 82, Issue 1, February 2020, pp. 9-34. Also, the Historical Marital Status Tables available at
8 Paul Hemez, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Wendy D. Manning, Susan L. Brown, and Krista K. Payne, "Visualizing 20 Years of Racial-Ethnic Variation in Women's Ages at Sexual Initiation and Family Formation," Socius, 6, July 2020, pp. 1-3.
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The order of marital and birth events may also be changing. The percentage of women who married and then had children declined from 67.0 percent of women born in the 1940s to 49.5 percent of women born in the 1970s. At the same time, the percentage of all women who never married but had children was higher among women born in the 1970s than among those born in the 1940s./9
This report focuses on the characteristics of unmarried women with a birth in the last year, including those who were living with an unmarried partner./10
It is an update to a report on the same topic that used 2011 ACS 1-year estimates and makes frequent comparisons to the previous report to provide context for current trends./11
ABOUT THE DATA
National and state-level ACS estimates of the percentage of women with a recent birth who are unmarried differ from the NVSS administrative birth records in two key ways. The first is that the NCHS vital statistics data come from birth certificates, while ACS data are survey data. ACS estimates are nationally representative but are not a complete count of every birth in the United States since they reflect estimates of women, not births. The second key difference is the period covered by each dataset. The NCHS vital statistics data reflect the time of birth during each calendar year. ACS interviews happen every month of the calendar year, and women aged 15 to 50 are asked whether they had a birth in the past 12 months. This means that births in the 2023 ACS 1-year estimates could have occurred any time from January 2022 through December 2023.
The differences between the way that NCHS vital statistics data and ACS data are reported and collected also affect sociodemographic characteristics. While the NCHS vital statistics data contain information on maternal marital status and place of residence at the time of birth, the ACS collects data on marital status and place of residence at the time of the interview. It is possible that ACS respondents had a change in marital status or moved to a different state between the time of childbirth and the time of the interview.
Both the NVSS vital statistics data and the ACS provide important information about births and women who had a recent birth in the United States. In particular, ACS data provide economic characteristics of women and the households they live in and provide data at lower levels of geography. The next section of this report gives a national overview of unmarried women in 2023 who gave birth in the last year. The subsequent two sections focus on geographic variation at the state and metropolitan statistical area levels.
NATIONAL PROFILE
In 2023, 4 million women aged 15 to 50 had a birth in the last year, according to the ACS (Figure 1). Of this 4 million, over 1.2 million (30.9 percent) were unmarried. Both the number and percentage of births to unmarried women were lower in 2023 than in 2011, when 1.5 million unmarried women aged 15 to 50 had a birth in the last year, making up 35.7 percent of all births.
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9 Brittany M. King and Tayelor Valerio, "Marriage Then Carriage? Marital and Fertility Patterns Among Women by Birth Cohort," presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Columbus, OH, April 19, 2024,
10 Marital status is captured at the time of the survey and may not reflect the woman's marital status at the time she gave birth.
11 Rachel M. Shattuck and Rose M. Kreider, "Social and Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth: 2011," American Community Survey Reports, ACS-21, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2013,
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What Is the American Community Survey?
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every year. In 2023, it had a sample size of about 3.5 million addresses across the United States and Puerto Rico, including both housing units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities and prisons). The ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation and every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey. For information on the ACS sample design and other topics, visit
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Figure 1. Women Aged 15 to 50 With a Recent Birth by Marital Status and Selected Characteristics: 2023
Note: The error bars represent the margin of error. This number, when added to or subtracted from the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (Data Management System [DMS] number P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
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CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN WITH A BIRTH IN THE LAST YEAR
Living arrangements. Of the 4 million women with a birth in the last year, 2.6 million were living with a spouse, while 449,100 lived with an unmarried partner (Figure 1)./12
Note that for all of the living arrangement categories, some women may have a marital status of separated or married, spouse absent, so they are not in the "living with spouse" category but are still considered to be currently married. Among women with a recent birth who were unmarried, 35.5 percent were living with an unmarried partner at the time of interview./13
Marital history. As mentioned in the "About the Data" section, a major difference between the ACS and vital statistics data is that the ACS captures mothers' marital status at the time of the survey, whereas the vital statistics data capture it at the time of the birth. A benefit of the ACS is that it collects data on marital events, allowing for calculation of the number of women who gave birth and also got married in the last year. Of the 4 million women aged 15 to 50 with a birth in the last year, 183,200 (4.6 percent) married in the last year. By comparison, 2.6 percent of women aged 15 to 50 who did not have a birth in the last year married in the last year./14
Put another way, women aged 15 to 50 with a birth in the last year were more likely to also have gotten married in the last year compared to their peers who did not give birth in the last year.
Education. Educational attainment was inversely correlated with the percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried. In other words, women with the lowest levels of education (less than high school and high school graduate or GED) had the largest proportion of births to unmarried women, while those with the highest level of education (bachelor's degree or more) had the lowest.
In 2011, the largest proportion of births to unmarried women were among those with less than a high school diploma. However, in 2023, both women with less than a high school diploma and women with a high school degree with a birth in the last year had the highest proportion who were unmarried. This was driven in part by a decrease in both the number and percentage of women with less than a high school diploma who gave birth in the last year and were unmarried. The percentage of recent mothers with less than a high school diploma who were unmarried decreased from 57.0 percent in 2011 to 48.9 percent in 2023. Additionally, the number of women with a less than high school diploma with a recent birth decreased from 384,605 in 2011 to 190,200 in 2023. This decrease in women with less than a high school diploma with a recent birth was likely driven in part by the decrease in women aged 15 to 19 who gave birth in the last year (refer to the "Age" section).
On the other end of the spectrum, 11.4 percent of women with a bachelor's degree or more who had a birth in the last year were unmarried in 2023, an increase from 8.8 percent in 2011. This increase in nonmarital fertility among college educated women is consistent with findings from other national surveys. Possible reasons for this change include evolving norms around having children within cohabiting unions or among single parents and growing economic deterrents to marriage, such as student loan debt and stagnating college wage premiums./15
Household income. Overall, women with a recent birth who had higher household incomes had lower percentages who were unmarried. The percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried decreased with each higher income level presented in Figure 1 once the household income level was over $15,000.16 Among women with a birth in the last year, 66.8 percent of those with a household income of less than $10,000 were unmarried, compared to 11.4 percent of those with a household income of $200,000 or more.
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12 Full estimates and margins of error for Figure 1 can be found in the Appendix Table.
13 In ACS data, it is only possible to determine the presence of unmarried partners for householders or their unmarried partners. Nonhouseholders living with unmarried partners are not included in this category. Due to this and the fact that the presence of an unmarried partner is measured at the time of interview rather than at the time of birth, this estimate is likely conservative. This estimate is derived by taking the number of women with a recent birth who were unmarried and living with an unmarried partner divided by the total number of women with a recent birth who were unmarried.
14 The percentage of women who married in the last year and had a birth in the last year was statistically higher than the percentage of women who married in the last year and who did not have a birth in the last year. These percentages translate to marriage rates of 46 and 26 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 50, respectively. For more information on marriage rates for all women aged 15 and over and state variation in marriage rates, refer to
15 Andrew J. Cherlin, "Rising Nonmarital First Childbearing Among College-Educated Women: Evidence From Three National Studies," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118, 37, e2109016118, May 2021,
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Table 1. Women Aged 15 to 50 With a Recent Birth by Marital Status by State: 2023
Note: Data in this table can be found in DP02 on data.census.gov.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (Data Management System [DMS] number P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
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Age. In general, a higher percentage of young women who had a birth in the last year were unmarried when compared to their older counterparts. Women aged 15 to 19 with a birth in the last year had the highest percentage unmarried (90.1 percent). However, the number of unmarried women aged 15 to 19 with a birth in the last year in 2023 (82,530) was less than half of what it was in 2011 (216,436).
This follows the trend observed in administrative data - teenage birthrates peaked in 1991 and have been declining since 2009./17 Women aged 35 to 39 with a birth in the last year had the lowest unmarried share (18.2 percent).
Race and Hispanic origin. Among women who gave birth in the last year, the percentage who were unmarried varied by race and Hispanic origin, ranging from 10.8 percent of women who were Asian alone to 59.7 percent of women who were Black alone. Of American Indian and Alaska Native alone women in 2023 who gave birth in the last year, 48.5 percent were unmarried, compared to 39.0 percent of Hispanic women, 37.8 percent of women with two or more races, and 21.8 percent of White alone, non-Hispanic women with a recent birth./18
The percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried decreased between 2011 and 2023 for all race and Hispanic origin groups except Asian alone and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone.
Nativity. A greater share of nativeborn than foreign-born women with a birth in the last year were unmarried. The percentage of both foreign-born and native-born women with a birth in the last year who were unmarried decreased between 2011 to 2023: from 23.6 percent to 21.3 percent for foreign-born women and from 38.8 percent to 33.3 percent for nativeborn women.
VARIATION BY STATE
While nationally the percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried was 30.9 in 2023, it varied greatly by state (Table 1). Between 2011 and 2023, the percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried declined or the difference was not statistically significant for all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Louisiana (45.5 percent), West Virginia (43.3 percent), Mississippi (39.5 percent), Nevada (37.5 percent), and Rhode Island (37.5 percent) had among the highest shares of recent births to unmarried women.19 Utah (15.7 percent), North Dakota (16.9 percent), Vermont (19.8 percent), New Hampshire (21.3 percent), and Idaho (21.9 percent) had among the lowest shares of recent births to unmarried women./20
While Table 1 presents the number and percentage of births to unmarried women by state, Figure 2 explains whether the percentage of births to unmarried women for each state differed significantly from the national average. Several states along the coast in the South - Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas - had higher levels of recent births to unmarried women than the nation as a whole. In contrast, several states in the northern part of the country, including Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin, had lower levels of recent births to unmarried women than the nation as a whole.
Some of the differences in geographic patterns are related to state-level characteristics. Many socioeconomic characteristics, including poverty, income, and bachelor's degree attainment, varied by state and at lower levels of geography./21
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17 Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs, "Data and Statistics on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health," Washington, DC, 2025,
18 The percentage of women of two or more races with a birth in the last year who were unmarried and the percentage of Hispanic women with a birth in the last year who were unmarried did not significantly differ.
19 Estimates for Louisiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia did not significantly differ from each other. Estimates for West Virginia, Mississippi, Nevada, and Rhode Island also did not significantly differ from some other states.
20 Estimates for Utah, North Dakota, Vermont, and New Hampshire did not significantly differ from each other. The estimate for Idaho did not significantly differ from the estimates for North Dakota, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Estimates for North Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Idaho also did not significantly differ from some other states.
21 Craig Benson, "Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023," American Community Survey Briefs, ACSBR-022, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2024
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Additionally, women must have a marital status of never married, widowed, or divorced to have an unmarried birth, and marriage rates varied by state./22 These variations in socioeconomic characteristics and marriage rates are likely linked, as previous research has found that those with a bachelor's degree or higher and those who are economically advantaged are more likely to be married./23 Table 2 presents the median household income, percentage in poverty, percentage of women aged 15 to 50 with a bachelor's degree or more, and the percentage of women aged 15 to 50 with less than a high school diploma alongside the percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried.
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22 Clayton Buck, Paul Hemez, and Lydia Anderson, "U.S. Divorce Rates Down, Marriage Rates Stagnant From 2012-2022," America Counts, U.S. Census Bureau, 2024,
23 Yeris Mayol-Garcia, Benjamin Gurrentz, and Rose M. Kreider, "Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2016," Current Population Reports, P70-167, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2021
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Figure 2. Percentage of Women With a Recent Birth Who Were Unmarried by State: 2023
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (Data Management System [DMS] number P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
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Table 2. Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth Aged 15 to 50 by State With Other State-Level Characteristics: 2023
Note: Data in the "Median household income" columns can be found in B19013 and "In poverty" columns can be found in S1701 on data.census.gov.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (Data Management System [DMS] number P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
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Figure 1 indicates that at the national level there was an inverse relationship between household income and the percentage of women with an unmarried birth. At the state level, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Mississippi had among the highest percentages of recent births to unmarried women, and among the lowest median household incomes ($58,229, $55,948, and $54,203, respectively) (Table 2)./24 Similarly, those states also had among the highest shares of people in poverty in 2023 (18.9, 16.7, and 18.0 percent, respectively)./25 The percentage of women with an unmarried birth and the percentage of people in households below the poverty line were strongly correlated at the state level, with a Pearson's r correlation of about 0.7./26 On the other hand, the percentage of women with an unmarried birth and state median household income were moderately correlated, with a Pearson's r correlation of -0.4. These results suggest that it could be the lower end of the income distribution driving the association, given that poverty has a stronger correlation to the percentage of women with an unmarried birth than median household income at the state level.
According to the data, at the national level, educational attainment was inversely related to the share of women with a recent birth who were unmarried (Figure 1). Based on this, we would expect states with a higher percentage of women with less than a high school diploma to have a higher percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried, and states with a higher percentage of women with a bachelor's degree or more to have a lower percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried. However, the Pearson's r correlation for the percentage of women with an unmarried birth and the percentage of women aged 15 to 50 with a bachelor's degree was not significant and for the percentage of women aged 15 to 50 with a less than high school diploma is 0.3, suggesting a weak correlation. These findings suggest that at the state level, poverty is more closely correlated to the percentage of women with an unmarried birth than educational attainment.
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24 The median household income for West Virginia and Mississippi significantly differed from each other and all other states. The median household income for Louisiana did not significantly differ from the median household income for Arkansas.
25 The percentage of people in poverty in Louisiana did not significantly differ from the percentage in poverty in Mississippi. The percentage in poverty in Mississippi also did not significantly differ from the percentage in poverty in New Mexico. The percentage in poverty in West Virginia did not significantly differ from the percentage in poverty in Kentucky, New Mexico, or Oklahoma.
26 Pearson's r is used to determine the strength of the relationship between two variables and ranges from -1 to 1. A Pearson's r value of -1 indicates perfect negative correlation, while 1 indicates perfect positive correlation. A Pearson's r value of 0 indicates that there is no relationship between the two variables.
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VARIATION BY METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA
In addition to variation by state, the percentage of women with an unmarried birth varied by metropolitan statistical area (MSA) (Figure 3). MSA-level estimates use 5-year ACS data, and therefore the national-level estimates for Figure 3 and Table 3 will not match those for other tables and figures throughout the report./27 In general, MSAs with a higher percentage of women with a birth in the last year who were unmarried than the national average were in the South, parts of the Midwest, California, and Puerto Rico. Brunswick-St. Simons, GA (70.7 percent); Flint, MI (56.6 percent); Monroe, LA (55.5 percent); Florence, SC (54.2 percent); and Rockford, IL (53.5 percent) were among the MSAs with the largest share of women with a recent birth who were unmarried (Table 3)./28
MSAs with a lower percentage of women with a birth in the last year who were unmarried than the national average were scattered throughout the United States, with higher concentrations in the Northeast, parts of the Midwest, and the West. Pocatello, ID (6.2 percent); Amherst Town-Northampton, MA (8.7 percent); Gettysburg, PA (9.0 percent); Logan, UT-ID (9.6 percent); Fairbanks-College, AK (9.7 percent); and Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT (9.7 percent) were among the MSAs with the lowest percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried./29
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27 Figure 3 and Table 3 use 2019-2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, whereas all other tables and figures in this report use 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. This decision was made because metropolitan statistical areas are a substate geography and women with a birth in the last year who were unmarried are a select population, and 5-year estimates provide a larger sample size than 1-year estimates. By the Office of Management and Budget definition, metropolitan areas require the presence of a distinct city with 50,000 or more inhabitants or the presence of an urban area (more than a single city or town) with a total population of at least 100,000. For more information on the 387 metropolitan statistical areas, lists of these areas, and definitions, refer to
28 Estimates for Flint, MI; Monroe, LA; Florence, SC; and Rockford, IL, did not significantly differ from each other.
29 Estimates for these MSAs did not significantly differ from each other.
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Figure 3. Percentage of Women With a Recent Birth Who Were Unmarried by Metropolitan Statistical Area: 2019-2023
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019-2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Data Management System [DMS] number P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
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SUMMARY
Using data from the American Community Survey, this report explored the social and economic characteristics of unmarried women with a birth in the last year, as well as their geographic distribution at both the state and metropolitan levels. Unmarried women with a recent birth may or may not live with an unmarried partner, and in 2023, 35.5 percent of women with a recent birth who were unmarried lived with an unmarried partner./30 This report found many differences from the previous report, which used 2011 data. Most notably, the share of women with a birth in the last year who were unmarried decreased from 35.7 percent in 2011 to 30.9 percent in 2023.
The percentage of women with a recent birth who were unmarried either decreased or was not statistically significant between 2011 and 2023 for every U.S. state and the District of Columbia. Other changes included a large decrease in the number of women aged 15 to 19 who gave birth in the last year between 2011 and 2023, and an increase in the percentage of women with a bachelor's degree or higher who gave birth in the last year who were unmarried.
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30 The presence of unmarried partners can only be determined for householders and their unmarried partners. Nonhouseholders living with unmarried partners are not included in this category. Due to this and the fact that the presence of an unmarried partner is measured at the time of interview rather than at the time of birth, this estimate is likely conservative.
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Table 3. Selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas With Among the Highest and Lowest Percentages of Women Aged 15 to 50 With a Recent Birth Who Were Unmarried: 2019-2023
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Data Management System [DMS] number P-7533841; Disclosure Review Board [DRB] approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-107).
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SOURCE OF THE DATA
This report presents data from the 2023 ACS 1-year and 2019- 2023 ACS 5-year estimates, with select comparisons to the 2011 ACS 1-year estimates. The population represented (the population universe) in the ACS is the population living in both households and group quarters (i.e., the resident population of the United States). The group quarters population consists of the institutionalized population (such as people in correctional institutions or nursing homes) and the noninstitutionalized population (most of whom are in college dormitories).
For tabulation purposes in this report, ACS data are presented for the total population except for living arrangements and household income, which only include the population living in households. Poverty status is determined for individuals in housing units and noninstitutional group quarters. The poverty universe excludes children under the age of 15 who are not related to the householder, people living in institutional group quarters (e.g., nursing homes or correctional facilities), and people living in college dormitories or military barracks.
ACCURACY OF THE ESTIMATES
Statistics from surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. All comparisons presented in this report have taken sampling error into account and are significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise indicated. This means the 90 percent confidence interval for the difference between the estimates being compared does not include zero. Nonsampling errors in surveys may be attributed to a variety of sources, such as how the survey is designed, how respondents interpret questions, how able and willing respondents are to provide correct answers, and how accurately the answers are coded and classified. The Census Bureau employs quality control procedures throughout the production process - including overall survey design, question wording, review of interviewers' and coders' work, and statistical review of reports - to minimize these errors.
The final ACS population estimates are adjusted in the weighting procedure for coverage error by controlling specific survey estimates to independent population controls by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. The final ACS estimates of housing units are controlled to be consistent with independent estimates of total housing. This weighting partially corrects for bias due to over- or undercoverage, but biases may still be present, such as when people who are missed by the survey differ from those interviewed in ways other than age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. How this weighting procedure affects other variables in the survey is not precisely known. All of these considerations affect comparisons across different surveys or data sources. Additionally, ACS estimates are rounded to a maximum of four significant digits for disclosure protection purposes.
More information on sampling and estimation methods, confidentiality protection, and sampling and nonsampling errors is available in the 2023 ACS Accuracy of the Data document located at
CONTACTS
Contact the Census Bureau's Customer Service Center at 1-800-923-8282 (toll-free) or visit
SUGGESTED CITATION
Anderson, Lydia R., Tayelor Valerio, and Chanell Washington, "Social and Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth: 2023," American Community Survey Reports, ACS-62, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2025.
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The report is posted at: https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/acs-62.pdf
BLS Southeast Region Issues Report on Mississippi Job Openings and Labor Turnover November 2025
ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan. 31 (TNSLrpt) -- Mississippi Job Openings and Labor Turnover November 2025 - A report from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Southeast Region - Jan. 30, 2026* * *
Mississippi had 71,000 job openings in November 2025, compared to 68,000 openings in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the job openings rate in Mississippi was 5.6 percent in November and 5.3 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.3 percent in November ... Show Full Article ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan. 31 (TNSLrpt) -- Mississippi Job Openings and Labor Turnover November 2025 - A report from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Southeast Region - Jan. 30, 2026 * * * Mississippi had 71,000 job openings in November 2025, compared to 68,000 openings in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the job openings rate in Mississippi was 5.6 percent in November and 5.3 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 4.3 percent in Novemberand 4.5 percent in October. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.
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Chart 1. Job openings rates for the United States and Mississippi, seasonally adjusted
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The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Mississippi was 0.7 in November. Nationwide, 37 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in November that were lower than the national ratio of 1.1 unemployed persons per job opening; 10 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 3 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)
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Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, November 2025, seasonally
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In November, Mississippi had 41,000 hires and 44,000 separations, compared to 44,000 hires and 45,000 separations in October. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in November, hires and separations each averaged 42,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
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Chart 2. Hires and total separations in Mississippi, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
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Among the November separations in Mississippi, 30,000 were quits and 12,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 26,000 quits and 17,000 layoffs and discharges in October. (See chart 3.) Over the last 12 months, quits averaged 27,000 per month, ranging from 23,000 to 30,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 13,000 per month, ranging from 10,000 to 17,000.
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Chart 3. Quits and layoffs and discharges in Mississippi, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
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Federal Government Shutdown
September 2025 state JOLTS estimates reported in this release include partial data that businesses self-reported electronically during the lapse in appropriations and data collected in November following the shutdown. October 2025 data presented in this release were collected in November following the shutdown, as originally planned. The October 2025 unemployment data are unavailable due to the shutdown, and therefore the number of unemployed persons per job opening is also unavailable.
Additionally, BLS temporarily suspended use of the monthly alignment methodology for October 2025 preliminary estimates; use of this methodology will resume with the publication of October 2025 final estimates. See the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note for information on state JOLTS alignment methodology.
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Upcoming Change to the JOLTS State Estimates
The national State Job Openings and Labor Turnover news release will move from a monthly news release to an annual news release. The last monthly news release will occur with the December 2025 data published in February 2026. The first annual news release will be in July 2026. Going forward, monthly estimates for the prior calendar year will be published each year along with the annual news release. The annual news release will incorporate benchmark revisions to JOLTS national estimates, updated Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and updated Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data.
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State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for December 2025 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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Technical Note
This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based, incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.
Job Openings. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets all three of these conditions:
* A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
* The job could start within 30 days.
* The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.
The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.
Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.
Separations. Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and are reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.
* Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations.
* Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer.
* Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.
Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.
Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
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Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for Mississippi, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for Mississippi, seasonally adjusted
Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
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View original text plus charts and tables here: https://www.bls.gov/regions/southeast/news-release/2026/jobopeningslaborturnover_mississippi_20260130.htm