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Key Statistical Agencies
Which U. S. federal agencies collect the most frequently requested economic
and business data?
- Bureau of the Census provides statistics
on construction, manufacturing, retail-wholesale trade and selected service
industries, business ownership, international trade, income/poverty, and
population (estimates, projections, and demographics). Extensive online
data with a Subjects
A-Z index and a large
library of its print publications in PDF.
Helpful page on How
to Find the Latest Business Data .
- Bureau of Economic Analysis provides
statistics on United States gross domestic product, gross state product,
balance of payments, foreign direct investment, industry and wealth data,
personal income, national income and product accounts.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics provides
statistics on topics including inflation and consumer spending, consumer
price index), productivity, producer price index, employment/unemployment,
employee benefits, compensation/real earnings/wages, and employment/occupational
projections.
Which other federal government sites make frequently requested data easily
available?
- Stat-USA
provides access to vital economic, business, and trade information produced
by the United States government. The State of the Nation section offers
convenient links to the latest data releases on foreign exchange rates,
economic indicators, housing and construction, employment, manufacturing
and industry, monetary statistics, and economic policy. (Oviatt Library
subscription; other users can link to Stat-USA's
homepage to learn about access options).
- USA Trade
Online provides online United States import/export statistics by commodity,
country, port customs district. (Oviatt Library subscription; other users
can link to USA Trade Online's
homepage to learn about access options).
- EconomicIndicators.gov
- FedStats is a gateway to statistics
from over 100 United States federal agencies.
- FRASER
(Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) and FRED
(Federal Reserve Economic Data) offer historic and current economic data.
- See also the specific sites and reference titles listed in other sections
of this online guide.
Economic Indicators and Overviews of the Economy
- Stat-USA
(Commerce Department). Provides access to vital economic, business, and
trade information produced by the United States government. The State of
the Nation section offers convenient links to the latest data releases on
foreign exchange rates, economic indicators, housing and construction, employment,
manufacturing and industry, monetary statistics, and economic policy. (Oviatt
Library subscription; other users can link to Stat-USA's
homepage to learn about access options).
- EconomicIndicators.gov
provides easy access to key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic
Analysis and the United States Census Bureau including: Advance Monthly
Sales for Retail and Food Services, Advance Report on Durable Goods, Construction
Put in Place, Corporate Profits, Current Account Balance (International
Transactions), Gross Domestic Product, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership,
Manufacturer's Shipments, Inventories, and Orders, Manufacturing and Trade:
Inventories and Orders, Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales,
Monthly Wholesale Trade, New Residential Construction, New Residential Sales,
Personal Income and Outlays, Quarterly Finacial Report for Retail Trade,
Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade, Retail E-Commerce
Sales, United States. International Trade in Goods and Services, and United
States International Transactions.
- FRASER
(Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) and FRED
(Federal Reserve Economic Data) offer historic and current economic data.
- Survey of Current Business
(Bureau of Economic Analysis). Includes gross domestic product and a variety
of national, international, and regional/local United States economic indicators.
- Economic Indicators
(United States Council of Economic Advisers, online via GPO
Access). Earliest official version online is April 1995, continues to current.
Also includes a link to unofficial online copies beginning with 1948.
- Economic Report of the
President (GPO Access). Annual, online from 1995 to latest.
- Monetary Policy.
The Federal Reserve Board's Summary of Commentary on Current Economic
Conditions by Federal Reserve District, best known by its popular title
of The Beige Book, and other Federal Reserve materials on monetary
policy.
- Consumer Price Indexes (Bureau
of Labor Statistics) including an inflation calculator and instructions
on how to use the Consumer Price Index for contract escalation.
- United States Economy at a
Glance. A Bureau of Labor Statistics
table of recent data and ten years of back data on the United States economy.
Topics include:
- Unemployment Rate
- Change in Payroll Employment
- Average Hourly Earnings
- Consumer Price Index
- Producer Price Index
- Import Price Index
- Employment Cost Index
- Productivity
- Small Business Indicators
(Small Business Administration). Site includes links to this title and other
reports about small business.
- Interest
Rates (Federal Reserve Board)
- Foreign Exchange
Rates (Federal Reserve). Daily exchange rate data in a weekly release,
with links to historical data.
- International Macroeconomic
Data Set (Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service). Data
from 1969 through 2017 for real (adjusted for inflation) gross domestic
product, population, real exchange rates, and other variables for the 190
countries and 34 regions that are most important for United States agricultural
trade.
- Statistical Abstract
of the United States. Annual compilation of statistics on industries,
population, and a vast array of other topics. Most consider this title easier
to use in print format, which is available in the Oviatt Library (latest
in Reference Room, ref HA 202). Historical years online offer PDF files
(use Adobe
Reader); current years offer choice of Excel files or PDF (select the
print edition).
Business/Industry
- Manufacturing, Mining, and Construction
Statistics (Census Bureau). See also Government
Reference Sources: Minerals and Energy.
- Current Industrial
Reports (Census Bureau)
- Retail and Food
Services/Wholesale Trade Statistics (Census Bureau)
- E-Stats: Measuring
the Electronic Economy (Census Bureau). Data from several surveys and
links to Quarterly Retail
E-Commerce Sales.
- Service Annual
Survey and Quarterly
Service Survey (Census Bureau)
- Statistics on Banking (Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation)
- Industry
Sector Data (International Trade Administration). Tables are available
for each 3, 4, 5 and 6 digit NAICS manufacturing code. NAICS tables have
data since 1997 for industry and product shipments, total employment, number
of production workers, and capital expenditures. Import and export data
derived from the merchandise trade statistics since 1997 are also provided.
Link to SIC
tables for 1987-1996 data.
- Corporation
Tax Statistics Industry Data from the Internal Revenue Service's Tax
Statistics website.
- SEC
Filings & Forms (EDGAR).
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
requires all public companies (except foreign companies and companies with
less than $10 million in assets and 500 shareholders) to file registration
statements, periodic reports, and other forms (such as 10-K, 8-K, 10-Q forms
etc.) electronically through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this
information for free. See also the SEC's Executive
Compensation Disclosure database (also known as Executive Pay Finder).
- Statistics of U.S.
Businesses (Census Bureau) National and subnational data on business
distribution by size and industry. Covering most of the country's economic
activity, the series excludes data on self-employed individuals, employees
of private households, railroad employees, agricultural production employees,
and most government employees
- County Business
Patterns (Census Bureau). County Business Patterns (Census Bureau).
Offers business pattern data by county,
zip code, or metropolitan area in several formats.
- Statistics about
Business Size (Census Bureau) and Firm
Size Data (Small Business Administration)
- Statistical Abstract
of the United States. Annual compilation of statistics on industries,
population, and a vast array of other topics. Most consider this title easier
to use in print format, which is available in the Oviatt Library (latest
in Reference Room, ref HA 202). Historical years online offer PDF files
(use Adobe
Reader); current years offer choice of Excel files or PDF (select the
print edition).
- Small Business
Planner (Small Business Administration) includes information on starting
and managing a small business, such as writing a business plan, finance
and legal topics, taxes, marketing, and more for those who want to start
a new business.
- Classification schemes:
Economic Census Data
- Economic Census 2007
and Economic Census
2002 (Census
Bureau)
- Profiles of the U. S. economy every 5 years, from the national to the
local level. Industry and geographic area reports plus nationwide reports
such as the Survey of Business
Owners
(which includes data on owners by gender, race, ethnicity, age and more).
- Census
of Agriculture (National Agricultural Statistics Service) Data about
agribusiness and related topics.
Trade
- Stat-USA
(Commerce Department). Provides access to vital economic, business, and
trade information produced by the United States government. The National
Trade Data Bank section provides access to Country Commercial Guides, Market
Research reports, Best Market reports and other programs. The International
Trade Library is a comprehensive collection of over 40,000 documents related
to international trade. All are full text searchable, as well as key word
searchable by country or product. Offers daily trade leads.(Oviatt Library
subscription; other users can link to Stat-USA's
homepage to learn about access options).
- National
Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. See also the Document
Library from the Office of the United States Trade Representative
for additional reports and updates.
- United States
Foreign Trade Highlights
- USA Trade
Online. Specific export and import information on more than 18,000 commodities
by commodity, partner country, and customs port district--including Los
Angeles. (Oviatt Library subscription).
- Exports and International Trade. Oviatt
Library subject guide to trade statistics, trade policy, and export sites
which includes both government and nongovernment sources.
Labor/Jobs
Demographics
Doing Business with the Federal Government
- Federal Business Opportunities
(General Services Administration). FedBizOpps replaced Commerce Business
Daily on January 2, 2002 as the single point of universal electronic public
access on the Internet for government-wide Federal procurement opportunities
that exceed $25,000.
- Government Sales
and Auctions Information on and access to all Federal government items
and inventories currently held for sale or auction. Site also acts as portal
for all announcements regarding sales events and public auctions of government
property released by government entities around the world.
Additional Oviatt Library subject guides to government sources of interest
to business
Created and maintained by Mary
M. Finley
Questions or comments: mary.finley@csun.edu
Links checked: 19 May 2009
