Guide to Economic Indicators is a reference book that gives concise explanations of the meanings and uses of various macroeconomic indicators. The selected indicators reflect the overall domestic and international conditions of the American economy, as well as particular segments of it. They are prepared primarily by U.S. government agencies, with a small number prepared by private organizations.
The book explains the basic features of more than sixty statistical measures of the U.S. economy. It is meant for economists, students, investors, journalists, executives, and citizens interested in economic affairs. Readers who are interested in an overall perspective on economic indicators may find Chapter 1, “Attributes of Economic Indicators,” in Tracking America’s Economy helpful.
The more than sixty indicators in this book are classified in fortynine generic categories in alphabetic order. To help those with an interest in particular aspects of the economy, the indicators are grouped below under broad topics. The broad groupings are: economic growth, household income and expenditure, business profits and investment, labor, inflation and deflation, production, housing, finance, government, international, cyclical indicators and forecasting, economic well-being, and psychology. Obviously, several indicators appear in multiple groupings. Here is the list:
- ECONOMIC GROWTH
- HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
- BUSINESS PROFITS AND INVESTMENT
- LABOR
- INFLATION AND DEFLATION
- PRODUCTION
- HOUSING
- FINANCE
- GOVERNMENT
- INTERNATIONAL
- CYCLICAL INDICATORS AND FORECASTING
- ECONOMIC WELL-BEING
- PSYCHOLOGY
Contents:
- Average Weekly Earnings
- Average Weekly Hours
- Balance of Payments
- Balance of Trade
- Bank Loans: Commercial and Industrial
- Bankruptcies: Personal
- Capacity Utilization
- Consumer Attitude Indexes
- Consumer Credit
- Consumer Credit Delinquency
- Consumer Price Index
- Corporate Profits
- Distribution of Income
- Distribution of Wealth
- Employment
- Employment Cost Index
- Farm Parity Ratio
- GDP Price Measures
- Government Economic Transactions: Expenditures, Receipts, Surplus/Deficit
- Gross Domestic Product
- Help-Wanted Advertising Index
- Home Sales: New and Existing Houses
- House Prices: New and Existing Houses
- Housing Affordability Index
- Housing Starts
- Housing Vacancy Rate
- Import and Export Price Indexes
- Industrial Production Index
- Interest Rates
- International Investment Position of the United States
- Inventory–Sales Ratios
- Job Gains and Losses
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover
- Leading, Coincident, and Lagging Indexes
- Manufacturers’ Orders
- Mortgage Loan Applications
- Mortgage Delinquency and Foreclosure
- Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index
- PMI
- Personal Income and Saving
- Poverty
- Producer Price Indexes
- Productivity: Business Sector
- Retail Sales
- Selected Services Revenue
- Stock Market Price Aggregates and Dividend Yields
- Unemployment
- Unit Labor Costs: Business Sector
- Value of the Dollar