turn, uses private - sector data on construction starts to build the sampling frame for its construction survey. the data sources for industrial production and capacity utilization can be found at board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2024 ), “ industrial production and capacity utilization - g. 17, ” webpage, https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / releases / g17 / about. htm. the data sources for consumer credit can be found at board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2022 ), “ consumer credit - g. 19, ” webpage, https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / releases / g19 / about. htm. - 11 staff and relies on new business applications for employer identification numbers, or eins. 12 during the early months of the pandemic, weekly data from the bfs provided a timely indicator of the initial decline in economic activity, and then later the figures likewise documented the rebound. 13 another measurement invention was created during the early months of the pandemic : the census bureau ’ s high - frequency “ pulse ” surveys — one each for households and businesses. those surveys leveraged existing census bureau resources to provide quick - turnaround information about the rapidly evolving health and economic situations. 14 the household pulse survey was rapidly developed shortly after the pandemic struck the u. s., with participation from a broad set of government agencies. 15 the survey provides a range of economic information about americans, including the pandemic - induced jump in remote work. the survey has adapted over time as the health and economic situations have evolved, incorporating questions about vaccination, access to infant formula during a product shortage, inflation, and other issues. the small business pulse survey provided timely information about employment, revenue, financial conditions, and expectations for future growth, survival, and needs in the highly see kimberly bayard, emin dinlersoz, timothy dunne, john haltiwanger, javier miranda, and john stevens ( 2018 ), “ early - stage business formation : an analysis of applications for employer identification numbers, ” nber working paper series 24364 ( cambridge, mass. : national bureau of economic research, march ), https : / / www. nber. org / papers / w24364. see the box “ small businesses during the covid - 19 crisis ” in board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2020 ), monetary policy report ( washington :

” webpage, https : / / www. bls. gov / pir / newtenant - rent. htm. for helpful discussions of traditional and nontraditional data and their potential relationship, see katharine g. abraham ( 2022 ), “ big data and official statistics, ” review of income and wealth, vol. 68 ( december ), pp. 835 – 61 ; and katharine g. abraham, ron s. jarmin, brian c. moyer, and matthew d. shapiro ( 2022 ), “ introduction : big data for twenty - first - century economic statistics : the future is now, ” in big data for twenty - first - century economic statistics, national bureau of economic research, studies in income and wealth ( chicago : university of chicago press ), pp. 1 – 22, https : / / www. nber. org / system / files / chapters / c14265 / c14265. pdf. - 14 to new and diverse ways to measure the economy so that this healthy pace of innovation can continue. i want to again stress two things. first, the united states has world - class statistical agencies that have both a long history of rigorously constructing government data sources and adapting and combining information from private - sector with official sources. and, second, private - sector data will continue to be useful for providing granularity, timeliness, and frequency advantages that can complement official statistics, so long as data users are appropriately cautious. despite the many challenges, the future of economic measurement is bright. the statistical agencies have already proven their ability to innovate and adapt, even under tight resource constraints. and the wealth of private - sector data sources will only expand in the future. when i form my economic outlook and policy assessments, my approach is to watch a wide range of indicators, both official and unofficial, with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each. all the data i carefully examine in my current role allow me to better understand where the economy stands. my colleagues on the fomc and i make determinations on the policy actions that will be most appropriate for achieving our dual mandate, and so i would like to briefly share my views on how i see the economy evolving and how i see appropriate monetary policy. despite a few bumps at the beginning of the year, inflation has continued to trend down in all price categories. but inflation remains above our target. i do believe that supply and demand are gradually coming into better balance