Economic Indicators Examples

Learn how to retrieve and analyze key economic indicators using the FRED MCP Server.

Labor Market Indicators

Unemployment Rate

Retrieve the monthly unemployment rate:

// Using fred_get_series
{
  "series_id": "UNRATE",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "observation_end": "2024-10-01"
}

Response:

{
  "series_id": "UNRATE",
  "title": "Unemployment Rate",
  "units": "Percent",
  "frequency": "Monthly",
  "seasonal_adjustment": "Seasonally Adjusted",
  "observations": [
    {
      "date": "2024-09-01",
      "value": "4.2"
    },
    {
      "date": "2024-08-01",
      "value": "4.3"
    }
  ]
}

Labor Force Participation

Track workforce participation trends:

{
  "series_id": "CIVPART",
  "observation_start": "2015-01-01"
}

Combine multiple series to understand labor market dynamics:

UNRATE: Unemployment rate
CIVPART: Labor force participation
EMRATIO: Employment-population ratio
U6RATE: Broader unemployment measure

Nonfarm Payrolls

Monthly employment changes:

{
  "series_id": "PAYEMS",
  "observation_start": "2023-01-01",
  "units": "chg",  // Period-to-period change
  "frequency": "m"
}

Inflation Indicators

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Track headline inflation:

{
  "series_id": "CPIAUCSL",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"  // Percent change from year ago
}

Core Inflation

CPI excluding volatile food and energy:

{
  "series_id": "CPILFESL",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

{
  "series_id": "CPIAUCSL",
  "units": "pc1"
}

{
  "series_id": "CPILFESL",
  "units": "pc1"
}

{
  "series_id": "PCEPI",
  "units": "pc1"
}

{
  "series_id": "PCEPILFE",
  "units": "pc1"
}

Producer Price Index

Wholesale price changes:

{
  "series_id": "PPIACO",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

GDP and Growth

Real GDP

Inflation-adjusted economic output:

{
  "series_id": "GDPC1",
  "observation_start": "2015-Q1",
  "units": "pca"  // Percent change at annual rate
}

Nominal GDP

Current dollar GDP:

{
  "series_id": "GDP",
  "observation_start": "2015-Q1",
  "frequency": "q"
}

GDP Components

Consumption
Investment
Government Spending
Net Exports

{
  "series_id": "PCEC",
  "observation_start": "2020-Q1"
}

{
  "series_id": "GPDI",
  "observation_start": "2020-Q1"
}

{
  "series_id": "GCE",
  "observation_start": "2020-Q1"
}

{
  "series_id": "NETEXP",
  "observation_start": "2020-Q1"
}

Interest Rates

Federal Funds Rate

The Fed’s primary policy rate:

{
  "series_id": "DFF",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "frequency": "d"
}

Treasury Yields

2-Year Treasury

series_id: "DGS2"

10-Year Treasury

series_id: "DGS10"

30-Year Treasury

series_id: "DGS30"

Yield Curve Spread

series_id: "T10Y2Y"

Mortgage Rates

30-year fixed mortgage rate:

{
  "series_id": "MORTGAGE30US",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "frequency": "w"
}

Financial Markets

Stock Market Indices

// S&P 500
{
  "series_id": "SP500",
  "observation_start": "2023-01-01"
}

// Dow Jones Industrial Average
{
  "series_id": "DJIA",
  "observation_start": "2023-01-01"
}

// NASDAQ Composite
{
  "series_id": "NASDAQCOM",
  "observation_start": "2023-01-01"
}

Exchange Rates

Major Currencies

// Euro
{ "series_id": "DEXUSEU" }

// British Pound
{ "series_id": "DEXUSUK" }

// Japanese Yen
{ "series_id": "DEXJPUS" }

// Swiss Franc
{ "series_id": "DEXSZUS" }

Emerging Markets

// Chinese Yuan
{ "series_id": "DEXCHUS" }

// Mexican Peso
{ "series_id": "DEXMXUS" }

// Brazilian Real
{ "series_id": "DEXBZUS" }

Trade-Weighted

// Broad Dollar Index
{ "series_id": "DTWEXBGS" }

// Advanced Economies
{ "series_id": "DTWEXAFEGS" }

// Emerging Markets
{ "series_id": "DTWEXEMEGS" }

Production Indicators

Industrial Production

{
  "series_id": "INDPRO",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

Manufacturing

// Manufacturing Output
{
  "series_id": "IPMAN",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01"
}

// Capacity Utilization
{
  "series_id": "TCU",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01"
}

Housing

Housing Starts

{ "series_id": "HOUST" }

Building Permits

{ "series_id": "PERMIT" }

Existing Home Sales

{ "series_id": "EXHOSLUSM495S" }

Home Price Index

{ "series_id": "CSUSHPISA" }

Consumer Indicators

Retail Sales

{
  "series_id": "RSXFS",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pch"
}

Consumer Confidence

// University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
{
  "series_id": "UMCSENT",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01"
}

// Conference Board Consumer Confidence
{
  "series_id": "CSCICP03USM665S",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01"
}

Personal Income and Spending

Personal Income
Personal Spending
Savings Rate

{
  "series_id": "PI",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

{
  "series_id": "PCE",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

{
  "series_id": "PSAVERT",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01"
}

Money Supply

Monetary Aggregates

// M1 Money Supply
{
  "series_id": "M1SL",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

// M2 Money Supply
{
  "series_id": "M2SL",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

Searching for Indicators

Find indicators by topic:

// Search for inflation indicators
{
  "query": "inflation",
  "tags": ["monthly", "sa"],
  "limit": 20,
  "sort_by": "popularity"
}

// Search for employment
{
  "query": "employment",
  "tags": ["bls", "monthly"],
  "limit": 20
}

Best Practices

Key considerations when working with indicators:

Frequency: Match series frequencies for comparisons
Seasonal Adjustment: Use SA versions for trend analysis
Units: Verify units before calculations
Revisions: Economic data undergoes revisions
Release Dates: Check when data is typically updated

Combining Multiple Indicators

// Create dashboard of key indicators
const dashboard = [
  { id: "UNRATE", name: "Unemployment" },
  { id: "CPIAUCSL", name: "CPI", transform: "pc1" },
  { id: "GDP", name: "GDP", transform: "pca" },
  { id: "DFF", name: "Fed Funds Rate" },
  { id: "SP500", name: "S&P 500" }
];

// Fetch all in date range
dashboard.forEach(indicator => {
  fred_get_series({
    series_id: indicator.id,
    observation_start: "2020-01-01",
    units: indicator.transform || "lin"
  });
});

Next Steps

Time Series Analysis

Analyze trends and patterns

Data Transformations

Transform data for analysis

Common Series

Popular indicator reference

API Reference

Tool documentation

​Economic Indicators Examples

​Labor Market Indicators

​Unemployment Rate

​Labor Force Participation

​Nonfarm Payrolls

​Inflation Indicators

​Consumer Price Index (CPI)

​Core Inflation

​Producer Price Index

​GDP and Growth

​Real GDP

​Nominal GDP

​GDP Components

​Interest Rates

​Federal Funds Rate

​Treasury Yields

2-Year Treasury

10-Year Treasury

30-Year Treasury

Yield Curve Spread

​Mortgage Rates

​Financial Markets

​Stock Market Indices

​Exchange Rates

​Production Indicators

​Industrial Production

​Manufacturing

​Housing

​Consumer Indicators

​Retail Sales

​Consumer Confidence

​Personal Income and Spending

​Money Supply

​Monetary Aggregates

​Searching for Indicators

​Best Practices

​Combining Multiple Indicators

​Next Steps

Time Series Analysis

Data Transformations

Common Series

API Reference

Economic Indicators Examples

Labor Market Indicators

Unemployment Rate

Labor Force Participation

Nonfarm Payrolls

Inflation Indicators

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Core Inflation

Producer Price Index

GDP and Growth

Real GDP

Nominal GDP

GDP Components

Interest Rates

Federal Funds Rate

Treasury Yields

Mortgage Rates

Financial Markets

Stock Market Indices

Exchange Rates

Production Indicators

Industrial Production

Manufacturing

Housing

Consumer Indicators

Retail Sales

Consumer Confidence

Personal Income and Spending

Money Supply

Monetary Aggregates

Searching for Indicators

Best Practices

Combining Multiple Indicators

Next Steps