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Economic Indicators Examples

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

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Labor Market Indicators

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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"
    }
  ]
}

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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

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Nonfarm Payrolls

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

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Inflation Indicators

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Consumer Price Index (CPI)

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

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Core Inflation

CPI excluding volatile food and energy: 
{
  "series_id": "CPILFESL",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "units": "pc1"
}

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

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Producer Price Index

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

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GDP and Growth

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Real GDP

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

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Nominal GDP

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

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GDP Components

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

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Interest Rates

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Federal Funds Rate

The Fed’s primary policy rate: 
{
  "series_id": "DFF",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "frequency": "d"
}

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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"

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Mortgage Rates

30-year fixed mortgage rate: 
{
  "series_id": "MORTGAGE30US",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "frequency": "w"
}

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Financial Markets

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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"
}

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Exchange Rates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Production Indicators

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Industrial Production

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

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Manufacturing

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

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

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Housing

1

Housing Starts

{ "series_id": "HOUST" }
2

Building Permits

{ "series_id": "PERMIT" }
3

Existing Home Sales

{ "series_id": "EXHOSLUSM495S" }
4

Home Price Index

{ "series_id": "CSUSHPISA" }

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Consumer Indicators

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Retail Sales

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

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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"
}

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Personal Income and Spending

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

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Money Supply

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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"
}

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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
}

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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

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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"
  });
});

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Next Steps

Time Series Analysis

Analyze trends and patterns

Data Transformations

Transform data for analysis

Common Series

Popular indicator reference

API Reference

Tool documentation