Research Guides: Economics Research Guide: Business & Economic Data

General Business & Economics Statistics

United States

Economic Census
2007 Economic Census data available as it is released over 2009 and 2010. The economic census is a profile of the economy, taken every five years.
Economic Report of the President
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.
U.S. Department of Commerce
Access to many Commerce Department statistical resources, including: Economic and Statistics Administration, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the International Trade Administration.
Consumer Price Index
Consumer Price Index produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
National Bureau of Economic Research
National Bureau of Economic Research is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works.

Federal Reserve Banks publish data about the economies of their regions, including business surveys and economic indicators relating to their region.

View a map of all Federal Reserve Banks.

International

Inter-American Development Bank
Focused on Latin American and Caribbean countries, with data on macroeconomic indicators presented in visually-pleasing graphic snapshots.
Asian Development Bank
Macroeconomic data for 48 member states in Asia and the Pacific
European Union Eurostat
Statistics on a wide-variety of topics for countries in the European Union.

Firms & Industries

United States

SEC Edgar
Census Bureau Homepage
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Web site for RITA: Reaseach and Innovative Technology Administration. Find statistics related to traffic, air travel, fuel, and other transportation subjects.

International

Yahoo Finance
Find financial news here, but also search by a company's ticker symbol to get company information, ownership, analyst coverage, news, and more.
Financial Times
Similar to Yahoo Finance, but provides more historical financial data for companies, and less historical stock pricing

Real Estate

United States

American Housing Survey from the Census Bureau
Most comprehensive survey on housing in the U.S.; including reasons people move and problems they face with their homes and neighborhoods.
National Association of Realtors
Data on home sales, housing affordability, and the real estate market.

International

European Union Eurostat
Statistics on a wide-variety of topics for countries in the European Union.
Bank for International Settlements
Real estate pricing data for over forty countries.

Banks & Lending

United States

Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Biggest concentration of financial institution data, a compilation of data collected by all federal agencies relating to financial oversight.
National Credit Union Administration
Data about credit unions, including information about individual credit unions and nationwide trends.

International

Financial Access Survey from the IMF
Survey about availability of and access to bank services.
Bank for International Settlements
Real estate pricing data for over forty countries.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Data for countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as a selection of other developed countries

Library Databases

Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
A good place to start for most business research topics. Covers all areas of business, including management, economics, finance, accounting, international business, and more.

Labor

United States

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Find data on wages and earnings by occupation and geographic area, as well as, earning by other variables such as: education, age, sex, race, etc. Also consumer materials here, like the Consumer Expenditure Survey.
Census Bureau Homepage
Midwest BLS Information Office in Chicago
Find economic, wage, consumer, etc., statistics for the Midwest region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

International

International Labour Organization: ILOSTAT

Agriculture & Food

United States

National Agricultural Statistics Service
The National Agricultural Statistics Service provides timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.
Economic Research Service of the USDA
Food policy and agricultural data, Food Availability (per capita) Data System, and data about the foods eaten by Americans
Agriculture: Data & Statistics
From the U.S. Department of Agriculture

International

International Food Policy Research Institute
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.
World Food Programme's Food Aid Information System
Data on food aid efforts; categorized by donor, recipient, type of food aid, and year.
European Union Eurostat
Statistics on a wide-variety of topics for countries in the European Union.
Food and Agriculture Organization
From the United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization develops methods and standards for food and agriculture statistics and disseminates data for global monitoring.
UNCTADstat
Historical pricing for agricultural products and minerals

Government Finance

United States

U.S. Census: Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll
Data on employment, full-time and part-time workers
USAspending
Government spending data from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget

International

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
Open Knowledge Foundation
OpenSpending crowdsources public government spending datasets and offers features to help visualize and map the data.

Commodities

United States

Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
Monthly survey data on the health of the manufacturing sector
Annual Survey of Manufacturers
Annual survey providing data for detailed categories of goods (specific types of products)

International

Industrial Commodity Statistics Database
Data from 1995 to within four years from the present is available through the UNdata site.
UNCTADstat
Historical pricing for agricultural products and minerals

Macroeconomics

United States

Bureau of Economic Analysis
One of the Commerce Department's statistical agencies - national, regional, industry and international data.

International

UN Statistics Division: National Accounts Data
Data about GDP, gross national income, and value-added data for world regions and countries
Penn World Tables
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Data from 152 countries and 29 subjects - Search by regions, then countries

Trades and Tariffs

United States

Foreign Trade Statistics
From the US Census Bureau.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
One of the Commerce Department's statistical agencies - national, regional, industry and international data.

International

World Bank
Select the Data and Research tab for detailed, country-specific statistical information.
UNCTADstat
Historical pricing for agricultural products and minerals

Economics Research Guide

Librarian

Librarian

General Business & Economics Statistics

Firms & Industries

Real Estate

Banks & Lending

Library Databases

Labor

Agriculture & Food

Government Finance

Commodities

Macroeconomics

Trades and Tariffs