Plus, data on home prices, federal employee retirement and more.

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** Who's catching RSV?
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Respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, is one of three main respiratory illnesses the US is grappling with this winter. RSV generally causes mild cold-like symptoms but can lead to severe illness in older adults and infants. Data from early September ([link removed]) shows weekly hospitalization rates rising from 0.2 to 1.3 per 100,000 people.
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* Children younger than five typically have the highest RSV rates, particularly in the fall and winter. An estimated 58,000 to 80,000 children are hospitalized annually due to RSV. During the 2022–23 season, children were hospitalized at a rate more than 10 times higher than the general population.

* The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the usual RSV season patterns. Hospitalizations peaked in early January of both 2019 (1.8 per 100,00 people) and 2020 (2.7 per 100,000). However, 2022’s peak was on November 12 at 5.0 hospitalizations per 100,000 people — the highest on record.
* During the week of October 14, 2023, Southeastern states had higher percentages of positive RSV tests than other regions. Labs in Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia had the highest rates. However, lab participation is voluntary, and many states report insufficient data or none at all.

Learn more in the article ([link removed]) , including the variance in rates among races.


** Where are home prices rising and falling?
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Supply, demand, low mortgage rates, and remote work have led to an interesting few years in the housing market. Now, home prices seem to be cooling in certain parts of the country. Regional changes in house prices can provide clues to bigger economic pictures. Here’s a look at the states and cities where prices are fluctuating ([link removed]) .
* The median listing price for a home in the US was approximately $424,000 as of October 2023, about $14,000 less than in October 2022. However, newly built homes are selling for more than that, reaching a median new home sale price of $431,000. That’s down from $484,447 in October 2022.

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* Prices increased the most in Maine and Connecticut, rising 7.6% from the second quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2023 and dropped the most in Nevada, down 5.3%.
* When it comes to cities, home prices dropped the most (down 12.2%) in the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City area. Camden, New Jersey, had the biggest increase, up 10.6%. El Paso, Texas, and Syracuse, New York, followed (with 10.3% and 9.6% respectively).

See the numbers ([link removed]) on home price changes in your state.


** Data behind the news
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Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the federal government can tax certain unrealized gains based on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. USAFacts has data on how this act has changed federal income and payroll tax bills ([link removed]) .

Argentina has just sworn in a new president, one who campaigned on the idea of replacing the Argentine peso with the US dollar. Those plans seem to be paused for now. But still, what makes the US dollar so strong ([link removed]) ?

Think you know the latest reports at USAFacts? Take the weekly fact quiz ([link removed]) to prove it.


** One last fact
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According to the Office of Personnel Management, 114,505 federal employees retired ([link removed]) between September 2021 and September 2022. Plus, federal employees are retiring later. In 2021, about 7% of the federal workforce was younger than 30, compared to 23% of the private sector.
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