Economic Indicators

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Discover the U.S. Census Bureau's economic statistics through the 2013 Economic Indicator Webinar Series. Each of the 13 economic indicators in this webinar series will provide an in-depth description of how the critical economic indicator data is collected and how you can access and use these statistics. Sessions include construction, housing, international trade, retail trade and more. Learn how these timely, reliable and comprehensive economic statistics can enhance your business knowledge.

 

New Residential Construction  Chart of New Residential Construction CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

Privately-owned housing starts in March 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000. This is 2.8 percent (+/- 14.7%)* above the revised February 2014 estimate of 920,000.

Current

+2.8*
% change
March 2014

Previous

+1.9*
% change
February 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • New Residential Construction in PDF  PDF   
  • New Residential Construction in Excel  XLS
New Residential Construction Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 16, 2014
  • Next release:  May 16, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales  Chart of Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

U.S. total business end-of-month inventories for February 2014 were $1,715.6 billion, up 0.4 percent (+/-0.1%) from last month. U.S. total business sales were 1,311.8 billion, up 0.8 percent (+/-0.2%) from last month.

Current

+0.4
% change in inventories
February 2014

Previous

+0.4
% change in inventories
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales in PDF  PDF   
  • Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales in Excel  XLS
Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 14, 2014
  • Next release:  May 13, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services  Chart of Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

U.S. retail and food services sales for March reached $433.9 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent (+/-0.5%) from previous month.

Current

+1.1
% change
March 2014

Previous

+0.7
% change
February 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services in PDF  PDF   
  • Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services in Excel  XLS
Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 14, 2014
  • Next release:  May 13, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories  Chart of Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

February 2014 sales of merchant wholesalers were $436.1 billion, up 0.7 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month. End-of-month inventories were $518.3 billion, up 0.5 percent (+/-0.4%) from last month.

Current

+0.5
% change in Inv
February 2014

Previous

+0.8
% change in Inv
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories in PDF  PDF   
  • Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories in Excel  XLS
Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 9, 2014
  • Next release:  May 9, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services  Chart of U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

The Nation's international trade balance in goods and services decreased to -$42.3 billion in February from -$39.3 billion in January (revised), as exports decreased and imports increased.

Current

-42.3
$ billion
February 2014

Previous

-39.3
$ billion
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services in PDF  PDF   
  • U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services in text  TXT   U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services in Excel  XLS
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 3, 2014
  • Next release:  May 6, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders  Chart of Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

New orders for manufactured goods in February increased $7.5 billion or 1.6** percent to $488.8 billion.

Current

1.6**
% change
February 2014

Previous

-1.0**
% change
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders in PDF  PDF   
  • Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders in Excel  XLS
Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 2, 2014
  • Next release:  May 2, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Construction Spending  Chart of Construction Spending CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

Total construction activity for February 2014 ($945.7 billion) was 0.1 percent (+/-1.3%)* above the revised January 2014 ($944.6 billion).

Current

+0.1*
% change
February 2014

Previous

-0.2*
% change
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Construction Spending in PDF  PDF   
  • Construction Spending in Excel  XLS
Construction Spending Release Calendar
  • Released:  April 1, 2014
  • Next release:  May 1, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders  Chart of Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

New orders for manufactured durable goods in February increased $5.0 billion or 2.2** percent to $229.4 billion.

Current

+2.2**
% change
February 2014

Previous

-1.3**
% change
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders in PDF  PDF   
  • Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders in Excel  XLS
Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Release Calendar
  • Released:  March 26, 2014
  • Next release:  April 24, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

New Residential Sales  Chart of New Residential Sales CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

Sales of new single-family houses in February 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000. This is 3.3 percent (+/- 17.9%)* below the revised January 2014 estimate of 455,000.

Current

-3.3*
% change
February 2014

Previous

+3.2*
% change
January 2014 (r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • New Residential Sales in PDF  PDF   
  • New Residential Sales in Excel  XLS
New Residential Sales Release Calendar
  • Released:  March 25, 2014
  • Next release:  April 23, 2014
  • Frequency:  Monthly
  • Program Overview
 

Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade  Chart of Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

After-tax profits for retail corporations with assets of $50 million and over were $26.1 billion for the fourth quarter 2013 (the 3 months ending January 31, 2014), up $8.9 (+/- 0.1) billion from third quarter 2013 (the 3 months ending October 31, 2013).

Current

+8.9
$ billion
4th Qtr 2013

Previous

-3.7
$ billion
3rd Qtr 2013(r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade in PDF  PDF   
  • Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade in Excel  XLS
Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade Release Calendar
  • Released:  March 24, 2014
  • Next release:  June 16, 2014
  • Frequency:  Quarterly
  • Program Overview
 

Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries  Chart of Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

Manufacturing corporations' seasonally adjusted after-tax profits were $159.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2013, up $8.7 (+/- 0.7) billion from third quarter of 2013.

Current

+8.7
$ billion
4th Qtr 2013

Previous

+7.8
$ billion
3rd Qtr 2013(r)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries in PDF  PDF   
  • Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries in Excel  XLS
Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries Release Calendar
  • Released:  March 24, 2014
  • Next release:  June 9, 2014
  • Frequency:  Quarterly
  • Program Overview
 

Quarterly Services Survey  Chart of Quarterly Services Survey CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

U.S. Information sector revenue for the fourth quarter of 2013, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, was $326.0 billion, an increase of 1.9 percent (+/- 0.6) from the third quarter of 2013.

Current

+1.9
% change
4th Qtr 2013

Previous

+1.7
% change
3rd Qtr 2013

  • Current Press Release:
  • Quarterly Services Survey in PDF  PDF   
  • Quarterly Services Survey in Excel  XLS
Quarterly Services Survey Release Calendar
  • Released:  March 12, 2013
  • Next release:  June 11, 2014
  • Frequency:  Quarterly
  • Program Overview
 

Housing Vacancies and Homeownership  Chart of Housing Vacancies and Homeownership CHART XML RSS Feed Get email alerts when this indicator is updated

Homeownership Rate (HR)
The homeownership rate in the fourth quarter 2013 was 65.2 percent, down 0.2 (+/- 0.4)* percentage points from the fourth quarter 2012 rate of 65.4 percent. The homeownership rate in the Northeast was lower than its corresponding fourth quarter 2012 rate, while the rates in the Midwest, South, and West were not statistically different from the rates a year ago.

Rental Vacancy Rate (RVR)
The rental vacancy rate in the fourth quarter 2013 was 8.2 percent, down 0.5 (+/-0.4) percentage points from the fourth quarter 2012 rate of 8.7 percent. The rental vacancy rate in the Northeast was lower that the corresponding fourth quarter 2012 rate, while the rates in the Midwest, South, and West were not statistically different from the rates a year ago.

Current

65.2
percent
4th Qtr 2013
(HR)

Previous

65.4
percent
4th Qtr 2012
(HR)

  • Current Press Release:
  • Housing Vacancies and Homeownership in PDF  PDF   
Housing Vacancies and Homeownership Release Calendar
  • Released:  January 31, 2014
  • Next release:  April 29, 2014
  • Frequency:  Quarterly
 
 

(*) The 90% confidence interval includes zero. The Census Bureau does not have sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero.

(**) Because the survey estimates are not based on a probability sample, we can neither measure the sampling error of these estimates nor compute confidence intervals.

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