KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Welcome to the ALA economic indicators dashboard.  Here you will find a centralized source of economic data, curated by the ALA.  Don’t spend hours building your own dashboard when we’ve already done all the hard work.  

Note, data are flowing from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank.  The ALA is not endorsed by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank.  For educational purposes only.  

Indicators include:

  • Nominal GDP
  • Real GDP
  • Real GDP % Change
  • Personal Consumption Expenditures 
  • Real PCE % Change
  • GDP by Component
  • Consumer Price Index
  • Producer Price Index
  • PCE Inflation Index
  • PCE Inflation Index Less Food & Energy
  • Stock Market Pricing (DOW, S&P 500, NASDAQ, Wilshire)
  • and more coming soon!

macro measures of economic activity

Macro measures of economic activity reflect the overall economic health of the economy, which is measured at the country level.  Note, the U.S. is number 1 in GDP, followed by China, Japan, and Germany.

Nominal Gross Domestic Product

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) captures the total amount of goods and services produced in a country during a given period. Nominal measures are not adjusted for inflation.

Real GDP % Change

GDP % change (GDP % Change) gives historical context to our analysis. The generally accepted long-run growth rate of GDP in an industrialized country is 2.5% - 3.0%.

Real Personal Consumption Expenditures

Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) constitutes roughly 66% of GDP and is released by the BEA on a monthly basis.

Labor Productivity

Productivity and population growth are two of the primary drivers of economic growth.

Real gross domestic product

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) captures the total amount of goods and services produced in a country during a given period. Real GDP is adjusted for inflation (currently using an inflation adjustment index from 2012).

GDP By Component

GDP by Component (GDP by Component) shows the % of GDP coming from personal spending, government spending, private investment, and imports/exports.

Real PCE % Change

The percentage change in real PCE tracks tightly with changes in GDP given the fact that it is the largest component of GDP.


Measures of Inflation

Inflation influences the purchasing power of our money, therefore we must consistently track inflation measures.  We have provided a snapshot of the most recent data and graphs of historical inflation measures. 

Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a monthly pricing measure of a basket of consumer goods. This is the most commonly used measure of inflation.

PCE Inflation Index

The PCE Inflation Index (CPE) is a monthly pricing measure of a basket of consumer goods. The Federal Reserve tends to rely on this measure of inflation.

Producer price index: Commodities

The Producer Price Index (PPI) of commodities captures a the price change of a basket of commodities used in the marketplace.

PCE Inflation Excluding Food & Energy

The PCE Inflation Index Excluding Food and Energy is a monthly pricing measure of a basket of consumer goods excluding food and energy.

stock market indices

Stock market indices are considered to be forward looking economic indicators since values are theoretically based on the present value of future market cash flows.   We have provided a snapshot of the recent index levels and graphs of historical index prices.  

DOW jones industrial average

nasdaq 100 index

standard & poor's 500

wilshire 500 index