Resources for Key Economic Indicators
Released: 2018-11-09T00:00:00

Summary:
An understanding of economic indicators and their significance is seen as essential to the formulation of economic policies. These indicators, or statistics, provide snapshots of an economy's health as well as starting points for economic analysis. This report contains a list of selected authoritative U.S. government sources of economic indicators, such as gross domestic product (GDP), income, inflation, and labor force (including employment and unemployment) statistics.
Additional content includes related resources, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and links to external glossaries.

subsections: section_title: Statistics and Data
subsections: section_title: National Economic Accounts
paragraphs: The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which is an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, tracks major economic indicators, most notably gross domestic product (GDP). Other BEA indicators include items such as personal income and outlays, and corporate profits. These indicators together comprise what are known as BEA's " National Economic Accounts ," or "National Income and Product Accounts" (NIPA).
subsections: section_title: Gross Domestic Product
paragraphs: Gross Domestic Product is a comprehensive measure of U.S. economic output. It measures the value of the goods and services produced by the U.S. economy in a given time period and includes
total spending by consumers total investment by businesses total spending by government net exports (exports minus imports)
Current GDP News Release
Historical and Detailed NIPA Interactive Tables
A Primer on GDP and the National Income and Product Accounts
section_title: Personal Income and Outlays
paragraphs: Personal income is a measure of income received by individuals from wages, salaries, dividends, interest, and other forms. Personal outlays consist of personal consumption of goods and services and also include transfer payments. The components include
disposable income (total personal income minus personal current taxes) transfer receipts (payments by governments and businesses to individuals and nonprofit institutions serving individuals) consumption expenditures (goods and services purchased by persons) savings
Current Personal Income and Outlays News Release
Historical and Detailed NIPA Interactive Tables
section_title: Household Income
paragraphs: The Census Bureau reports on household income data that are collected from several major surveys and programs. Guidance on the differences between these sources of income data can be found on the bureau's website. Two of these data sources are described below.
The Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey (ACS) collects income data from a sample of the U.S. population, including median household data, data on income distribution, and the poverty rate. Data can cover one or five years. One-year estimates are more current but use a smaller sample size. Five-year estimates are less current but use larger sample sizes and are considered more reliable. The following are examples of commonly requested ACS data:
U.S. Median Income in the Past 12 Months from the 2017 ACS 1-Year EstimatesU.S. Income Distribution for Households and Families in the Past 12 Months from the 2017 ACS 1-Year Estimates
Another program, the Current Population Survey (CPS), is a survey conducted by the Census for Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and provides estimates on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage.
section_title: Inflation
paragraphs: Inflation is the overall increase in the prices of goods and services in the economy. A frequently cited measure of inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a BLS program that tracks changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. The information provided by BLS goes beyond just CPI and includes producer prices, import/export prices, and employment cost trends.
Overview of BLS Statistics on Inflation and Prices
subsections: section_title: Consumer Price Index
paragraphs: The Consumer Price Index program produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
Current CPI News ReleaseCurrent CPI Tables (from the current news release) Historical CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)CPI Databases
section_title: Producer Price Indexes
paragraphs: The Producer Price Indexes (PPIs) measure the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
Current PPI News ReleaseCurrent PPI Tables (from the current news release) Historical and Detailed Tables
section_title: Import/Export Prices Indexes
paragraphs: The International Price Program (IPP) produces Import/Export Price Indexes (MXP), which contain data on changes in the prices of nonmilitary goods and services traded between the United States and the rest of the world.
Current MXP ReleaseCurrent MXP Tables (from the current news release) Historical and Detailed Tables
section_title: Employment Cost Trends
paragraphs: Employment Cost Trends (ECT) produce quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs and quarterly data measuring level of average costs per hour worked.
Current ECT News ReleaseCurrent ECT Tables (from the current news release) Historical and Detailed Tables
section_title: Labor Force Characteristics
paragraphs: Few economic indicators are as closely watched as measures of employment. In its monthly news release, BLS provides national totals of the number of employed and unemployed. This release includes the results from both a household survey and a business establishment survey. These data are presented as both seasonally and not seasonally adjusted.
Current Monthly News Release—Employment SituationEmployment Statistics Tables (from the current news release) Historical Labor Force Data (household survey) Historical Establishment-Based Data
BLS also provides tables showing different characteristics of employed and unemployed persons, and persons not in the labor force. These statistics are available on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Historical data are also available. 
Labor Force Statistics Tables—Survey of HouseholdsLabor Force Statistics Tables—Survey of Business Establishments
subsections: section_title: Labor Productivity and Costs
paragraphs: Labor productivity relates output to the labor hours used in the production of that output. Two BLS programs produce labor productivity and costs (LPC) measures for sectors of the U.S. economy.
Current News Release—Productivity and CostsLPC Tables
section_title: Value of the Dollar
paragraphs: The value of a U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies is determined in foreign exchange markets, and its value affects prices and economic activity in the United States.
The Federal Reserve provides a brief overview on how the foreign exchange value of the dollar relates to Federal Reserve policy.
subsections: section_title: Foreign Exchange Values
paragraphs: Measures the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar versus various currencies and indices.
Current ReleaseHistorical Releases
section_title: Interest Rates
paragraphs: A collection of interest rates provided by the Federal Reserve, current to today's market.
Daily RatesWeekly, Monthly and Historical Rates (from the Data Download Program)
section_title: Related Resources
subsections: section_title: General Sources and Historical Information
subsections: section_title: Federal Reserve
paragraphs: Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District (The Beige Book)Economic Data ReleasesFederal Reserve Bank of St. Louis "FRED" Economic Data
section_title: Bureau of Economic Analysis
paragraphs: U.S. Economy at a GlanceCurrent Releases
section_title: Bureau of Labor Statistics
paragraphs: U.S. Economy at a GlanceDatabases, Tables, and Calculators by Subject
section_title: Census Bureau
paragraphs: Current Economic Indicator Releases
section_title: Council of Economic Advisers (via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
paragraphs: Economic Indicators Since 1948
section_title: Economic Indicator Release Dates
subsections: section_title: Bureau of Economic Analysis
paragraphs: Data Release Dates
section_title: Bureau of Labor Statistics
paragraphs: Schedules of News Releases
section_title: Census Bureau
paragraphs: Economic Indicator Release Schedule
section_title: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
paragraphs: Economic Indicators Calendar
section_title: Federal Finance
subsections: section_title: Office of Management and Budget
paragraphs: Federal Receipts and Outlays (yearly)
section_title: U.S. Treasury
paragraphs: Federal Debt (monthly)
section_title: Money, Credit, and Markets
subsections: section_title: Federal Reserve
paragraphs: Money Stock Measures (weekly) Consumer Credit (current release) Interest rates (daily)
section_title: Production and Business Activity
subsections: section_title: Census Bureau
paragraphs: New Residential Construction (monthly) Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report (monthly) Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories (monthly)
section_title: FAQs
subsections: section_title: What Is an Economic Indicator?
paragraphs: A statistic that, combined with others, shows the relative health of the economy.
section_title: Which Indicator Is Best for a Big Picture View of the Performance of the Overall Economy?
paragraphs: Real gross domestic product (GDP). Other important indicators include reports on personal income and employment.
section_title: When Are Data Released, and By Whom?
paragraphs: Several agencies release data, including the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of the Census, and the Office of Management and Budget. The frequencies with which data are released vary by agency and type of economic indicator. See " Economic Indicator Release Dates " (in " Related Resources ") for details.
A change in the trend of the economy (from expansion to recession, for example) is often announced only after several months of data are released.
section_title: What Is a Recession?
paragraphs: A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends as the economy reaches its trough. Between trough and peak, the economy is in an expansion. Expansion is the normal state of the economy; most recessions are brief and they have been rare in recent decades. Recessions are dated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private research institute. 
A popular definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, but recessions are not officially defined by the NBER using this definition.
Additional Information from NBER: 
U.S. Business Cycle Expansions and Contraction (Recessions)Most recent recession (December 2007-June 2009)
section_title: Links to Glossaries
paragraphs: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis—GlossaryFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco—Glossary of Economic TermsThe Economist—Economic Terms A-ZOxford Reference—A Dictionary of Economics
section_title: Related CRS Products
paragraphs: CRS In Focus IF10408, Introduction to U.S. Economy: GDP and Economic Growth , by Jeffrey M. Stupak and Mark P. Keightley CRS In Focus IF10477, Introduction to U.S. Economy: Inflation , by Jeffrey M. Stupak CRS In Focus IF10557, Introduction to U.S. Economy: Productivity , by Jeffrey M. Stupak CRS In Focus IF10411, Introduction to U.S. Economy: The Business Cycle and Growth , by Jeffrey M. Stupak, CRS In Focus IF10443, Introduction to U.S. Economy: Unemployment , by Jeffrey M. Stupak CRS In Focus IF10501, Introduction to U.S. Economy: Personal Income , by Jeffrey M. Stupak CRS In Focus IF10963, Introduction to U.S. Economy: Personal Saving , by Jeffrey M. Stupak CRS In Focus IF10569, U.S. Economy in a Global Context , by Jane G. Gravelle CRS Report R44543, Slow Growth in the Current U.S. Economic Expansion , by Mark P. Keightley, Marc Labonte, and Jeffrey M. Stupak CRS Report R44705, The U.S. Income Distribution: Trends and Issues , by Sarah A. Donovan, Marc Labonte, and Joseph Dalaker
CRS Report RL30344, Inflation: Causes, Costs, and Current Status , by Marc Labonte
CRS Report RL30354, Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions , by Marc Labonte