Compare economic indicators

What makes a fair comparison?

A rate, a dollar level and a price index answer different questions. Separate panels preserve each scale. Index-to-100 compares relative changes from a shared starting observation; it does not make purchasing power, populations or definitions identical. The active transformation appears in chart headings and the downloaded file.

Series at different original frequencies can be read side by side as published levels, but growth and indexed comparisons require the same frequency. No universal averaging, summation or end-period rule is applied. The table uses the union of exact producer reference periods and shows unavailable values when a series lacks a matching observation.

The workspace uses one frozen snapshot. Its dates represent observation periods, not the time when the economy became knowable. It does not reconstruct earlier agency vintages. A saved URL identifies the snapshot, selected series, transformation and range. Download a frozen file when you need to reproduce research after later updates.

Read the underlying definitions

Seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series can differ. Price-index levels do not compare how expensive two places are. A payroll job is not a unique employed person. Correlation between histories is descriptive and does not establish a cause. Inspect the formulas and each series’ definition before using a comparison in a report.

For an accessible alternative to the charts, use the exact-value table or CSV. Missing observations remain empty cells in the export. Each exported row retains the producer code, adjustment, transformation, units, source file and snapshot.