Home > Libraries > Arts & Sciences Libraries > Government Documents Information > Government Resources by Subject > Economic Statistics > Historical U.S. Data (Time Series)

Historical U.S. Data (Time Series)

The sources described in this subject guide contain time series data. References include government and non-government materials both in print and electronic formats. In addition to the sources listed below, any of the serial publications described in the other subject guides to Economic Statistics can be used as resources for time series.

ALFRED (ArchivaL Federal Reserve Economic Data) (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ALFRED.html
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reproduces almost 2300 historical time series on the following topics:

• Business and fiscal
• Consumer price index (CPI)
• Employment and population
• Exchange rates
• Federal Researve Bank-St. Louis District data
• Gross domestic product (GDP) and its components
• Producer price indexes (PPI)
• Reserves and monetary base
• Trade and international transactions
• U.S. financial data

Use FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) to access comparable data that was revised. ALFRED covers "vintage" statistics, statistics that have not been revised.

Business Statistics of the United States (Bernan Press)
Lockwood HC 101 B87 (1995+) (current edition edition in Reference)
CAPEN Multimedia Center MicFiche Z7554 .U5 S8 no. C1042-2 (2001+)
Contains recent and historical information about the U.S. economy. Most of the data are government statistics. The publisher introduced this product to replace the discontinued Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publication Business Statistic s (Lockwood Documents US C59.11/3: 1961-1991).

Datapedia of the United States (Bernan Press)
Lockwood Reference HA 202 K87 2001
CAPEN Multimedia Center MicFiche Z7554 .U5 S8 no.C1042-1
Provides historical statistics from 1790 to 1990. Data from 1790-1970 are taken from the publication Historical Statistics of the United States. Selected topics deal with population and vital statistics; migration; labor; income; environment and natural resources; social issues, such as education and crime; construction and housing; manufacturing, finance, and business; transportation and communication; and government

Dow Jones Averages 1885-1995 (Irwin Professional Publications)
Lockwood Reference HG 4915 D6434 1996
Reproduces daily prices for stocks in the industrial, transportation, utility, and retail sectors, and bonds.

Economagic.com (Economagic, LLC)
http://economagic.com
Provides selected access to over 200,000 economic time series. Three sections cover the most frequently requested series; data by states; and data by agencies. The search engine works well. US government agencies produced most statistics. Economagic limits full features of the database to subscribers. UB does not subscribe.

Economic Report of the President (US Council of Economic Advisors)
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/index.html (1995-present)
Lockwood Reference HC106.5 .A272 (most current issue)
Lockwood Documents (Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) number, the call number, varies depending upon the administration)
The online edition provides economic statistics for the most recent 30 years in Excel and PDF formats. When appropriate, quarterly data deal with the most recent 3 years and monthly data deal with the most recent 2 years. Topics include employment and wages; production and business activity; money, and government and corporate finance; agriculture; prices; and national income.

EPI DataZone (Economic Policy Institute)
http://epinet.org/datazone/
Emphasis is upon national statistics covering jobs, wages and family income; and prices. View information in PDF format or download files into Excel.

Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (FRASER) (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/
Reproduces PDF copies of the following historical economic statistics publications.

  • All Bank Statistics (Online edition: 1896-1955)
    Lockwood HG2493 .A517 (1896-1955)

  • Annual Statistical Digest (Online edition: 1914-1970)
    CAPEN Multimedia Center MicFiche HA195 .A8 9364-5 (selected copies 1970-1993)

  • Banking and Monetary Statistics (Online edition: 1914-1970)
    Lockwood HG2493 .A52 (1914-1941) and HG2493 .A53 (1941-1970)

  • Business Conditions Digest (Online edition: 1968-1975)
    Lockwood Documents US C 56.111: (1968-1971)
    Lockwood Documents US C 59.9: (1972-March 1990)

  • Business Cycle Developments (Online edition: 1961-1968)
    Lockwood Documents US C 56.111: (1962-1968)

  • Business Statistics ( Supplement to the Survey of Current Business ) (Online edition: 1932-1965)
    Lockwood Documents C 59.11/ 3: (1951-1963/1991)
    See Business Statistics of the United States for more current editions

  • Concordance of Statistics (Online edition: 1978-2000)
    Law Library General Collection HG2493 .C66 (1982-1983 and 1985-1986)
    A guide to statistics available in Federal Reserve publications.

  • Economic Indicators (Online edition: 1948+)
    http://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/index.html (1995+)
    Lockwood Documents US Y 4.Ec 7: Ec 7/: (1960+)

  • Productivity and Costs (Online edition: 1985-2003)

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/
Data pertain to over 3,000 variables about business conditions; prices; employment; exchange rates; gross domestic product; interest rates; money; trade; and finance. View charts or data tables in text format.

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 (US Bureau of the Census)
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS55561 (Part 1)
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS55811 (Part 2)
HA 202 .A385 1975 (Lockwood Reference, Undergraduate Library/Science and Engineering Library Reference, Law Library Reference, Architecture and Planning Reference)
Lockwood Reference CD-ROM HA202 .A385 1997 (permanently mounted on a reference computer)
Health Science Reference HA 202 .B87 1975
Selected topics include labor, employment and earnings; prices; banking; income; major industry sectors; population; health; and recreation. Editors provide citations to original sources and detailed explanations of changes in data definitions and methodologies over the years. See Datapedia of the United States for updated coverage. Use the CD-ROM edition to download tables for spreadsheets.

Historical Tables: Budget of the United States (US Office of Management and Budget)
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/index.html (1996-current edition)
Lockwood Documents US Prex 2.8/8: (current edition at the Bus/Doc reference desk)
Statistics measure federal outlays by agencies and spending functions or broad categories, such as education and defense; revenues; and surpluses and receipts. Most series start in 1940, but selected data begin with 1901. The online version covers 1996 to date in PDF format and 1998 to date in Excel format.

Historical Foreign Exchange Rate Data (University at Buffalo. Arts and Sciences Libraries)
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/busdoc/currency-converters.html#his
Lists key sources for time series exchange rate data.

Predicasts Basebook (Predicasts, Inc.)
Lockwood Reference HB 3730 P652 (1974-1994)
A compilation of annual historical industry statistics obtained from both government and non-government sources. Each volume presents up to 14 years of data. Although not current, Predicasts Basebook can be useful because it identifies data sources that may still be updated.

Regional Economic Accounts (US Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis)
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/data.htm
Regional Economic Information System ( REIS ) (US Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis)
CAPEN Multimedia Center US CD-ROM C 59.24: (1969+)
The Bureau of Economic Analysis provides local area economic data for states, counties, and metropolitan areas,. Annual estimates cover 1969 to the present. Statistics include personal income and earnings; full and part employment; transfer payments; and farm income and expenses. The most current edition of the REIS CD-ROM is permanently mounted on a Lockwood Reference Desk Computer. A guide to the CD-ROM is at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/busdoc/cdrom/reis.html .

Standard & Poor's Statistical Service (Standard & Poor's Corporation)
Lockwood Reference HG 4921 S752 (current edition)
A compendium of current and historical statistics which emphasize banking and investment indicators. Updates appear monthly. The historical data cover at least 20 years.