Economic Indicators
Comprehensive guide to every indicator we track. Learn what each measures, why it matters, and how to interpret the data.
The number of permits issued for new privately-owned housing units, a leading indicator for future construction activity.
Net percentage of domestic banks tightening standards for commercial and industrial loans to large and middle-market firms.
The number of individuals who have filed an initial claim and have experienced a week of unemployment and then filed a continued claim to receive benefits for that week.
A measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The Consumer Price Index excluding food and energy prices, which tend to be more volatile.
The Federal Reserve's primary inflation gauge, measuring PCE price changes excluding volatile food and energy components.
The percentage of productive capacity being used by factories, mines, and utilities.
A survey-based measure of consumer attitudes about the economy and personal finances.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate nationally.
An index of freight shipment volumes in North America, measuring the number of freight shipments across all modes of transportation.
A comprehensive index measuring financial conditions in the U.S. across money markets, debt markets, and equity markets.
The annualized number of previously owned residential properties sold each month, measuring housing demand and market activity.
An index measuring the level of economic policy uncertainty in the United States based on newspaper coverage, tax code expiration data, and economic forecaster disagreement.
The interest rate at which banks lend reserve balances to other banks overnight.
An index measuring the month-to-month changes in output of services provided by the for-hire freight transportation industry.
Total debit balances in customers' securities margin accounts at FINRA member broker-dealers, measuring investor leverage in the stock market.
The number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week.
A measure of real output from manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities.
The manufacturing component of the Industrial Production Index, measuring output from U.S. factories.
The ratio of total business inventories to total business sales, measuring inventory health across the economy.
The percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over that is either employed or actively seeking employment.
The total number of layoffs and discharges in the nonfarm sector, measuring involuntary separations initiated by employers.
The total number of paid U.S. workers excluding farm employees, government employees, private household employees, and nonprofit organization employees.
Binary indicator showing whether the U.S. economy is in a recession as determined by the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee.
The annualized number of newly constructed single-family homes sold each month, measuring housing demand and construction activity.
A composite leading indicator designed to provide early signals of turning points in the business cycle, normalized around 100.
A composite index measuring U.S. consumer confidence, normalized around 100 as the long-term average, based on survey data about economic expectations.
The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, tracking the prices of goods and services consumed by individuals.
A measure of the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
Total income received by individuals from all sources, including wages, investments, and government transfers.
Total receipts of retail stores, measuring consumer spending at retail establishments.
Retail sales adjusted for inflation, showing the true purchasing power of consumer spending.
Assets held in retail money market funds, representing individual investor cash holdings.
Model-based probability estimate (0-100%) that the U.S. economy is in a recession, using a dynamic-factor Markov-switching framework.
A real-time recession indicator that signals the start of a recession when the 3-month moving average of the unemployment rate rises 0.5 percentage points above its 12-month low.
An index measuring the degree of financial stress in markets, with zero representing normal conditions.