Business

The federal government is the largest data producer in the world. Several government agencies and offices exist solely to collect, analyze, and report on business, industrial, and economic activity. Whether you are a new business owner or an old pro, a solid understanding your market and current economic conditions is key to your business' growth and success. This guide provides a collection of business data and statistical sources freely available from several federal agencies.

• General Sources
• Demographics - People and Population
• Consumer Statistics
• Economic Indicators
• Employment Statistics
• Income and Earnings
• Money and Interest Rates
• Trade Statistics
• Statistics on Specific Industries

General Sources

The following resources provide statistical information and research reports on business conditions and for a variety of industries.

• FedStats
  Provides a full range of official statistical information produced by more than 100 agencies that provide data and trend information on such topics as economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
  An authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions in the United States.
• Statistics of U.S. Businesses
  A collection of data files created from U.S. Census County Business Patterns, an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry.
• Small Business Research and Statistics
  SBA Office of Advocacy provides research reports and statistical information on small businesses conditions in the United States.
• STAT-USA
  For a subscription fee, you can access authoritative business, trade, and economic information from across the federal government. Produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Demographics - People and Population

• American FactFinder
  This service of the U.S. Census Bureau provides access to a wealth of population, housing, economic, and geographic data.
• State and County Quick Facts
  Provides frequently requested Census Bureau information at the national, state, county, and city level.
• Current Population Statistics
  A monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Labor Demographics
  The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) make significant amounts of data available for specific demographic categories. Demographic categories used by BLS include sex, age, race, and ethnic origin.
• Social Security Fact Sheets for Demographic Groups
  Fact sheets for all demographic groups including women and young people.
• State Population Statistics
  Provides access to facts about people, business, and geography.

Consumer Related Statistics

• Consumer Credit Data
  Consumer Credit Data provided by the Federal Reserve Statistical Release.
• Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft
  Includes consumer fraud and identity theft complaints received by the FTC, U.S., and Canadian federal, state, and non-governmental organizations.
• Consumer Product-Related Statistics
  Reports showing statistics related to children's products, child poisonings, CO (Carbon Monoxide) poisonings, and other products.
• Inflation and Consumer Statistics
  Lists of indexes offered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that measure different aspects of inflation.

Economic Indicators

• Beige Book : Current Economic Conditions
  This report is published after each Federal Reserve Bank gathers information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, and other sources.
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
  Access to national, international, regional, and industy economic accounts data.
• Consumer Price Index
  The Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) program produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
• Economic Census
  The Economic Census profiles American business every 5 years, from the national to the local level.
• Economic Indicators
  The purpose of these links is to provide timely access to the daily releases of key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Economic Report of the President
  This is an annual report written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. It overviews the nation's economic progress using text and extensive data appendices.
• FRED - Federal Reserve Economic Data
  This is an informative database of over 13,000 U.S. economic time series.
• Major Economic Indicators
  Reports include consumer price index, producer price index, real earnings, and others.
• Producer Price Indexes
  The Producer Price Index (PPI) program measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
• Reports on the U.S. Economy
  These reports provide broad and targeted economic data, analyses and forecasts for use by Government agencies, businesses, and others.
• Stat USA
  As a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, StatUSA is a single point of access to authoritative business, trade, and economic information from across the Federal Government.
• U.S. Economic Indicators, 1998 - Present
  This browse page provides access to monthly Economic Indicators from January 1998 forward. Documents are available as ASCII text and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).
• White House Economic Statistics Briefing Room
  This provides easy access to current Federal economic indicators and links to information produced by a number of Federal agencies.

Employment Statistics

• Bureau of Labor Statistics Portal
• Current Labor Statistics
• Detailed Labor Statistics (Data Sets)
• Employment Projections
• Employment and Unemployment Statistics
• Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics
• Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
• Monthly Labor Review
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Social Security Facts and Figures
• State Labor Statistics
• Wage Data
• Women in the Labor Force

Income and Earnings

• Earnings by Occupation and Education
• Income Data (U.S. Census)
• Income Statistics in Brief
• National Compensation Survey
• Per Capita Income
• Personal Income and Outlays
• Poverty Data (U.S. Census)
• Real Earnings
• Survey of Income and Program Participation
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers

Money and Interest Rates

• Daily Foreign Exchange Rates
• Daily Interest Rates
• Money Statistics in Brief
• Money Stock Measures

Production and Sales

• Annual Survey of Manufactures
• Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
• Manufacturer's Shipments, Inventories and Orders
• Manufacturing, Mining and Construction Statistics
• Production Output
• Production Sales, Orders and Inventories
• Productivity and Costs
• Retail and Wholesale Trade Surveys

Trade Statistics

• Balance of Payments
• Data on Top 5000 U.S. Importers
• Foreign Trade Statistics
• Import and Export Statistics
• International Economic Trends (Annual)
• International Economic Trends (Monthly)
• Tariff and Trade DataWeb
• Trade Statistics for Manufacturing and Services
• Trade Stats Express
• U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services
• USA Trade Online