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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

September 8, 2009

A total of 76 million people were enrolled in school — from nursery school to college — in the U.S. in October 2007. That’s 27 percent of the population age 3 and older.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

September 7, 2009

There are 154.6 million people, aged 16 or older, in the nation’s labor force (seasonally adjusted) as of August 2009, including 82.5 million men and 72 million women.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

September 6, 2009

On June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in honor of work. 
Source: The Department of Labor

September 5, 2009

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City.
Source: The Department of Labor

September 4, 2009

AAA projects that 39.1 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Labor Day weekend, a decrease of 13.3 percent from last year, when Labor Day travel reached its highest point for this decade.

Source: AAA

September 3, 2009

The average cost of a family health insurance premium for employer-sponsored coverage more than doubled in the past nine years, going from $5,791 (inflation-adjusted) in 1999 to $12,680 last year.
Source: National Coalition on Health Care

September 2, 2009

Sales at family clothing stores in the U.S. in August last year totaled $7.6 billion. December was the only month with significantly higher sales.
Source: Census Bureau

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Aug. 25-Aug. 31

This week, readers sent us comments on tort reform, sharks, fonts and health insurance (surprise!).
In the FactCheck Mailbag we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

September 1, 2009

During the 2006-2007 school year, 7.3 million students (59 percent of them boys) played high school sports. That total is about 2.1 million higher than the number in 1979-1980.
Source: Census Bureau

August 31, 2009

The US Open began as a men’s singles and doubles tennis tournament in 1881.
Source: USOpen.org