Gross domestic product or GDP is the broadest measure of the health of the US economy. This series generally lags other indicators' release dates. Real GDP is an important indicator to track because it provides the greatest and broadest sectoral detail of any other series. Data reflect income as well as expenditure flows.
Sectoral coverage includes durable and nondurable goods, structures, and services.
Also, price data by sector are available for detailed subcomponents. Because of the detail available in the GDP reports, this series provides comprehensive information on supply and demand conditions, including information for various types of developing imbalances over the business cycle. That is, the first quarter advance estimate is published in late April, and subsequent first estimates are released in July, October, and January. Annual revisions are usually released in July with the first figures for the second quarter. Benchmark revisions occur about every five years with the base year tied to a recent quinquennial economic census such as the Census Survey of Manufacturers.