Announcements

For over 100 years, our nation’s statistical system has delivered trusted, high-quality statistics that drive government, business, and household decisions. Over that time, BEA and other statistical agencies have evolved with and adapted to our ever-changing economy. Today, we celebrate another step in that evolution with the publication of the “Trust Regulation.”

BEA's economic modeling tool that helps users analyze how a proposed project would ripple through a region's economy is now updated with new benchmark data.

State and local governments, civic leaders, planners, investors, and others use the tool to assess the economic impact of projects or events within their selected area. For example, building an apartment complex would require buying building materials from local retailers and wholesalers, leasing equipment, and hiring tradespeople. Employees of these and other local businesses would have additional wages to spend, perhaps on household needs or recreation.

Statistics for every state and the District of Columbia were added today to BEA’s prototype statistics on the distribution of U.S. personal income. This provides a new tool for assessing how households share in each state’s economic growth. 

For example, the share of state personal income received by the top 20 percent of households in 2021 ranged from lows of 43.1 percent in Maine and 43.7 percent in Maryland to highs of 53.8 percent in Connecticut and 54.1 percent in Wyoming, according to the prototype statistics.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis updated its prototype measures of economic well-being and growth today and for the first time released open-source code that allows users to tailor the charts and tables to meet their needs. 

The prototype measures package some of BEA’s headline statistics with data from other statistical agencies to spotlight trends in well-being and the drivers of economic growth.

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

I recently bought a pair of shorts that fit just right. They were so good that I bought a pair of jeans from the same brand. Somehow—and we've all been here—the jeans fit tighter than the shorts, even though they were made by the same company. This isn't too different from what I sometimes go through as a data user.

For the first time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will produce its benchmark updates of the nation’s gross domestic product and related industry and state statistics within the same timeframe. The updates will begin with initial results Sept. 28 and 29.

BEA Chief Economist Dennis Fixler was selected to receive the 2023 Julius Shiskin Memorial Award for Economic Statistics, which recognizes original and important contributions to statistics used to understand the economy.

Researchers interested in using BEA’s confidential microdata now have new resources for discovering the data and applying for access for their research projects.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis and other federal statistical agencies worked together to create a standard application process for the agencies’ restricted-use data, including BEA’s confidential, company-specific international trade and investment data. 

BEA’s journal of record, the Survey of Current Business, is starting 2023 by publishing articles more quickly, with a new website that makes content easier to find.

Beginning today, the Survey will publish individual articles, visual essays, statistical tables, and other content when they are ready, instead of holding them to publish together as a single online issue each month.

This rolling publication approach and the newly designed Survey website with improved navigation, archives, and more, will better serve readers and data users.

At the end of September, BEA will update five years of U.S. gross domestic product and related statistics, as well as GDP statistics for industries and for each state.

These updates are part of a cycle the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis follows to continue refining its statistics as more information becomes available. The annual updates incorporate data that only become available yearly, such as from the Census Bureau’s annual surveys of manufacturers, merchant wholesale trade, and retail trade.