Census Bureau

Indicator Reports

US Retail Sales - Monthly retail sales estimates from the Census Bureau. Sales are broken down into type of business based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey and the Monthly Retail Trade Survey. (Monthly)

US Manufacturing and Trade Business Inventories and Sales - Monthly estimates of inventories to provide broad and timely measures of combined changes in domestic retail trade, wholesale trade and manufacturers' activities. Includes inventories by type of business for retailers, and also a comparison of inventorys-to-sales trends. (Monthly)

US Housing Starts, Housing Completions, Building Permits - Monthly estimates from Building Permits Survey and the Survey of Construction provide national and regional data on the number of new housing units authorized by building permits; authorized, but not started; started; under construction; and completed. (Monthly)

US New Residential Sales - Monthly estimates from the Survey of Construction provides national and regional data on the number of new single-family houses sold and for sale. It also provides national data on median and average prices, the number of houses sold and for sale by stage of construction, and other statistics.\ (Monthly)

US Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders - Monthly estimates from the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) survey provides broad-based, monthly statistical data on economic conditions in the domestic manufacturing sector. The survey measures current industrial activity and provides an indication of future business trends. (Monthly)

US Advance International Trade, Wholesale Inventories, Retail Inventories - Advance view into estimates of international trade, retail inventories, and wholesale inventories. Based on data from the U.S. International Trade in Goods, the Monthly Retail Trade Survey, and the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey. (Monthly)

US Construction Spending - Estimates of construction spending from the monthly Value of Construction Put in Place Survey (VIP). The VIP provides monthly estimates of the total dollar value of construction work done in the U.S. The survey covers construction work done each month on new structures or improvements to existing structures for private and public sectors. Data estimates include the cost of labor and materials, cost of architectural and engineering work, overhead costs, interest and taxes paid during construction, and contractor's profits. (Monthly)

US Trade Deficit - Monthly estimate of international trade data provide detailed statistics on goods and estimates of services shipped from the U.S. to foreign countries. The report is done in conjunction with the Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Monthly)

Other Reports

Census of Population and Housing - Also known as the Population and Housing Census, the Decennial U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. It is mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years. The data collected by the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities. (Every 10 Years)

Economic Census - The Economic Census is the U.S. Government's official five-year measure of American business and the economy for planning and key economic reports, and economic development and business decisions. (Every 5 Years)

Census of Governments - The Census of Governments occurs every five years since 1957, for years ending in "2" and "7." It identifies the scope and nature of the nation's state and local government sector; provides authoritative benchmark figures of public finance and public employment; classifies local government organizations, powers, and activities; and measures federal, state, and local fiscal relationships. (Every 5 Years)

Quarterly Ecommerce Sales Report - Retail e-commerce sales are estimated from the same sample used for the Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) to estimate preliminary and final U.S. retail sales. Advance U.S. retail sales are estimated from a subsample of the MRTS sample that is not of adequate size to measure changes in retail e-commerce sales. (Quarterly)

Quarterly Services Survey - The Quarterly Services Survey is a principal economic indicator that produces, for selected service industries, quarterly estimates of total operating revenue and the percentage of revenue by class of customer (government, business, household consumers/individual users). The survey also produces estimates of total operating expenses from tax-exempt firms in industries that have a large not-for-profit component. In addition, for hospital services, the survey estimates the number of inpatient days and discharges. (Quarterly)