Research Guides: Economics: Economic Indicators & Forecasts

EBOOKS - Economic Indicators & Forecasts. Click - Read.

International & Global Economic Data

Bank for International Settlements
Statistics on banking, securities, derivatives, foreign exchange, external debt and payments.
Eurostat
High quality statistics from the European Union.
International Monetary Fund
Limted access to data on IMF lending, exchange rates, commodities and trade.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Stat Extracts
Single platform where users can access datasets compiled by the OECD.
UNdata
Economic, social and financial topics compiled by the United Nations and affiliated agencies.

World Bank Open Data This link opens in a new window
Best known for their World Development Indicators, the World Bank in the Spring of 2010 made all their data series freely available on the web.

World Economic Forum
An independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. WEF regularly publishes the "Global Competitiveness Report." The extensive report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.
Economy.com
provides real-time coverage of the global economy, including in-depth analysis of more than 300 economic indicators events, topics and long term trends, plus forecasts by Mark Zandi and the Moody's Analytics team.
Coface
Search by country and view some "major macro economic indicators."

U.S. Economic Data

U.S. Census Data
Economic Census data conducted every 5 years on the number of establishments, employees, payroll and sales for business by NAICS code.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Government office tasked with gathering data on national accounts, trade, investment, and industry on national and regional basis.
Data.gov
Portal for data and apps development based on the availability of public sector data.
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
The FOMC controls U.S. monetary policy through open market sale of Treasury securities, regulation of the interest rate charged on loans to commercial banks and other depository institutions, and regulation of amount of funds depository institutions must have on hand against depository liabilities. Policy decisions are made in response to economic dynamics across the U.S. Regional economic conditions are assessed by each Federal Reserve Bank District.
Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (FRASER)
The Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (FRASER) started in 2004 as a data preservation and accessibility project of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. FRASER’s mission is to safeguard and provide easy access to economic history—particularly the history of the Federal Reserve System.
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
Created by St. Louis Federal Reserve District, FRED provides historical U.S. economic and financial data, including daily U.S. interest rates, monetary and business indicators, exchange rates, balance of payments and regional economic data.
Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Contains articles as well as a monthly statistics section on employment and earnings. Covers less detail but a longer range of years than Employment and Earnings.

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) This link opens in a new window
Choose "Data" button on left for latest US Economic releases

Statistical Abstract of the United States from U.S. Census Bureau (1878-2012)
No longer being updated, but a well indexed, comprehensive collection of statistics in tabular format. Includes basic statistics for a wide range of economic indicators. The index leads to specific table numbers. Each table lists the source of the statistics for further reference.
Survey of Current Business
Includes monthly and quarterly cyclical indicator statistics. Tables of economic indicators cover such statistics as personal income, industrial productivity, business sales and inventories, commodity prices, producer prices, labor force, and earnings. Statistical series usually give monthly statistics for the last year and annual statistics for the previous two years.
Treasury Bulletin
This report of federal fiscal operations includes details of federal debt, bonds, notes, market yield, and other federal financial obligations. Positions of major foreign currencies are included, along with a profile of the domestic economy including growth of GDP, federal deficit, and rate of personal savings.

Bureau of Labor Statistics This link opens in a new window
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. Reports and other products provided cover a broad range of topics including the U.S. labor market, economy, and society.

Economic Indicators
Available from April 1995 forward, this monthly publication is prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers for the Joint Economic Committee. It provides economic information on gross domestic product, income, employment, production, business activity, prices, money, credit, security markets, Federal finance, and international statistics.
Economic Report of the President
A small portion is devoted to some short-term forecasts.

Forecasts

In addition to the websites or databases listed on this page under the other categories, the following resources are particularly useful in finding economists' economic forecasts (or "outlooks" or "projections"):

Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Journal of Business Forecasting
Each quarterly issue (via ABI/Inform database) has short-term macro-economic forecasts from several participants (view the .pdf version for the table).
Congressional Budget Office
CBO produces independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. The budget projections and economic forecast are generally issued each January and updated in August; the budget projections are also generally updated each March.
Mortgage Bankers Association
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Scroll down to "Economic and Employment Projections"
Wall Street Journal Economic Forecasting Survey
The Wall Street Journal surveys a group of more than 60 economists on more than 10 major economic indicators on a monthly basis.

Databases

Statista This link opens in a new window
Find statistics, consumer survey results, and industry studies from over 22,500 sources on over 60,000 topics in 600 industries from 50+ countries. Help Video
Sage Data (Statistical Datasets) This link opens in a new window
Explore a vast collection of U.S. and international statistics. With this dynamic tool, you can scan and search the contents of billions of datasets, compare and contrast variables of interest, and create customized views in tables, maps, rankings, and charts. Views also include descriptive summaries of the datasets and data sources. Datasets cover a wide range of subjects – including business, finance, banking, economics, sociology, political science, demography, agriculture, education, international studies, criminal justice, housing and construction, labor and employment, energy resources and industries, and more. Sources include public, private/commercial, and nongovernmental organizations. Help Guide

Note that for forecasts of future performance of sectors/industries (expenditures, revenue, sales, subscribers, prices, etc.) it is worthwhile to explore databases in our Industry Research Guide (databases page).

Think tanks and Associations

Commentary on published global and U.S. economic data may appear in publications of think thanks, universities or associations.

National Association for Business Economics (NABE)
Some free surveys/forecasts/outlook information for non-members. Their journal, Business Economics, can be found using the Library's Journal Finder.
Peterson Institute for International Economics
UCLA Anderson Forecast
U.S. and California forecast ( free summaries or purchase full forecasts)

Economics

Economic Indicators - Defined

What are economic indicators?