About the Survey of Current Business

The Survey of Current Business was first published in July 1921 by the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide a monthly summary of statistical information on trends in business and industry. The statistical information, displayed using index numbers, was compiled by Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce (BFDC), and Bureau of Standards.

Starting in July 1930, the BFDC, a predecessor of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, became solely responsible for the publication of the Survey of Current Business. In February 1934, the Survey began to include more analytic articles, which were referred to as special articles; previously, only summaries of statistical information were included.

The BEA Digital Library features Survey of Current Business articles from 1934 to 1949. This time period coincided with the BFDC�s first estimates of national income in 1934, its first estimates of gross national product in 1942, and the creation of the U.S. national income and product accounts (NIPAs) in 1947.

In addition to providing estimates of national income and product, featured articles from this period also reflect the unique role that the BFDC played in the planning necessary for World War II. Numerous articles assess the productive capacity of the U.S. economy, analyze the inflationary gap, and study the implications of price controls and other WWII policies.

The Survey of Current Business collection has expanded to 1,141 articles. The most recent update makes 108 additional documents originally published in the 1980s available.

Browse Survey of Current Business articles