Working with Economic Indicators

Chapter 10

Sources of Economic Indicator Data

Prior to the Internet, access to economic indicator data was limited to brief reports in the business media or printed reports by the U.S. government. Government reports were published at the Government Printing Office and then physically distributed, which resulted in delays for many users. The reports were available by subscription at some cost or required use of one of the designated Federal Repository Libraries that store government documents. There was limited access to data in electronic form from some data services that prepared and distributed databases, but these were often incomplete and somewhat dated when received.

The U.S. government has embraced the Internet as a means of providing ...