About the Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces Economy at a Glance pages at the
national, regional, state, and metropolitan area levels. The data displayed in these pages
are assembled from different surveys and programs conducted by BLS. The Economy at a Glance
pages are refreshed with current data every time any of the source programs
releases new statistics. This typically occurs 7-9 times per month.
Different programs produce data pertaining to different geographic
levels--thus, the related Economy at a Glance tables have somewhat
different information.
The seven BLS programs that produce Principal Federal Economic Indicators all publish national US data. These programs are: Current Population Survey,
Current Employment Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Indexes, International Price
Indexes, Employment Cost
Index, and Major Sector Productivity. All seven programs are represented in the US Economy at a Glance.
For the Economy at a Glance pages at the sub-national level:
- Data at the regional level are produced by the following programs: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Consumer Price Index, and the Employment Cost
Index
- Data at the State level are produced by the following programs: Local Area Unemployment Statistics and the State and Area portion of Current Employment
Statistics.
- Data at the metropolitan area level are produced by the following
programs: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, the State and Area portion of Current Employment Statistics, and, for some metropolitan areas, the Consumer Price
Index
At the higher aggregation levels (national, regional, and state) the data are
typically seasonally adjusted. At the metropolitan area level
the data are typically not seasonally adjusted. The Economy at a Glance footnotes explain which data are or are not seasonally
adjusted.
The following table summarizes the data availability on Economy at a Glance
tables:
Survey |
National |
Regional |
State |
Metropolitan Area |
Current Population Survey |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
|
|
Current Employment Statistics |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
Seasonally Adjusted |
Not Seasonally Adjusted |
Local Area Unemployment Statistics |
|
Seasonally Adjusted |
Seasonally Adjusted |
Not Seasonally Adjusted |
Consumer Price Indexes |
Seasonally Adjusted |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
Not Seasonally Adjusted |
Producer Price Index |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
|
|
International Price Indexes |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
|
|
Employment Cost Index |
Seasonally Adjusted |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
|
Major Sector Productivity |
Seasonally Adjusted |
|
|
|
For some programs data for the most recent month(s) or quarter are considered preliminary.
There are a few anomalous situations in the Economy at a Glance tables. For example, the State and Area portion of the Current Employment Statistics program does not produce seasonally adjusted data for the Information sector for most of the states. These anomalies are flagged in the Economy at a Glance tables through footnotes and by highlighting those rows in a different color.
|