General Sources:
Economic Data
Here are sites we have vetted for accuracy, timeliness,
and accessibility. Practically all the information is free, and most of
it comes from one of the many government agencies that track economic
trends. The sources we recommend are as follows:
Bureau
of Economic Analysis (BEA)
A division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, BEA provides data on the
various economic components of the nation’s gross domestic product
(GDP). The data is used by the White House and Congress to prepare budget
estimates and projections, and by the Federal Reserve to set monetary
policy. All information is free.
Decision
Analyst Economic Index
Decision Analyst conducts a monthly Internet survey of more than 5,000
households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The survey reports
on business activity where respondents work, as well as personal financial
data and trends, to provide a snapshot of current economic activity. The
Economic Index is calculated from nine different economic measurements
using a sophisticated econometric model. The Index is used by government
decision-makers, business managers, marketing specialists, the news media,
and others.
DismalScientist
Another site provided by Moody’s, this one offers various domestic
and international economic indicators. It also provides a calendar of
economic reports and up-to-date business news. All information is free.
Economagic
This site offers a comprehensive site of free, easily available, economic
time-series data useful for economic research, in particular economic
forecasting. The site offers more than 200,000 time series for which data
and custom charts can be retrieved. The majority of the data is domestic.
The core data sets involve U.S. macroeconomic data, but the bulk of the
data is employment data by local area—state, county, MSA, and many
cities and towns.
Economic
Research Service (ERS)
This is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides
state-by-state economic data. Information includes population trends,
employment figures, income levels, farm characteristics, farm financial
indicators, top commodities, exports, and counties for each state.
Federal
Reserve Board (FRB)
The Federal Reserve Board compiles economic research and data for the
regional banks that comprise the Federal Reserve network. This information
provides a credible assessment of economic conditions by region. The banks
are located in Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, Kansas City, Boston, Minneapolis,
New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Richmond, St. Louis, and San Francisco.
FreeLunch.com
Freelunch.com is a service provided by Moody’s Economy, an independent
provider of economic, financial, country, and industry research. The site’s
databases contain more than 165 million economic, financial and demographic
time series covering more than 180 countries and their sub-regions. The
company regularly runs data accuracy routines to verify the integrity
of its databases.
International
Economic Statistics (IES)
Provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, IES is a database that
simplifies the search for worldwide economic indicators. The database
provides links to individual indicators (such as GDP and CPI) for each
country, as well as a detailed description of the data. Descriptions are
searchable by title, country, subject, and keyword. The links are checked
regularly to maintain accuracy and indicators are continually added. IES
also publishes the Liber8 Economic Information Newsletter, which comes
out nine times a year. It offers economic information, articles, data,
and websites compiled by the librarians of the Federal Reserve Bank of
St. Louis Research Library. All IES data and the newsletter are free.
Monetary
Trends
Monetary Trends is published monthly by the Federal Reserve Bank
of St. Louis. The district’s Research Division, which publishes
Monetary Trends, monitors the economic and financial literature and produces
research in the areas of money and banking, macroeconomics, and international
and regional economics. Topics addressed by the publication include short-term
credit flows, interest rates, inflation indicators, futures contracts,
inflation-indexed securities, etc.
U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
This government agency is the principal fact-finding agency for the federal
government in the field of labor economics and statistics. BLS data must
satisfy a number of criteria, including relevance to current social and
economic issues, timeliness in reflecting today’s rapidly changing
economic conditions, accuracy and consistently high statistical quality,
and impartiality in both subject matter and presentation. Statistics are
available on topics such as employment, inflation, pay and benefits, productivity,
and other economic concerns. A great deal of the information is broken
down by industry and regions of the country. It is all free.
U.S.
Census Bureau: Business & Industry
Some of the best free economic data is provided online by the Census Bureau.
Updated regularly, the information relates primarily to these industries:
construction, manufacturing, retail, services, wholesale trade, international
trade, and governments.
U.S.
Census Bureau Economic Indicators
Offered by the Census Bureau, this site offers a wide assortment of economic
data, including housing vacancies and ownership patterns; building permits;
manufacturing and trade inventories and sales; international trade in
goods and services; construction spending; and a quarterly financial report
on manufacturing, mining and trade. The extensive archives have information
going back as far as 1958.
United
Nations Statistics Division
The UN provides a global center for data relating to international trade,
national accounts, energy, industry, environment, transport, and demographic
and social statistics gathered from many national and international sources.
The Division regularly publishes data updates, including the Statistical
Yearbook and World Statistics Pocketbook, and books and
reports on statistics and statistical methods. Many of the division's
databases are available on this site as CD-ROMs, diskettes ,and magnetic
tapes, or as printed publications.
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