BEA’s New and Existing Statistics Offer Economic Intel for Entrepreneurs and Business Community

What are consumer spending patterns in California compared to New York? Which states are attracting new foreign investment?  How are different industries in each state performing on a quarterly basis? Those are just a few examples of the kinds of new statistics that the Bureau of Economic Analysis is producing to give entrepreneurs even more economic intelligence as they chart strategies on marketing, investing and hiring.

These new statistics, which will soon be released, join a raft of existing BEA data that offer entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and households detailed insights into what is happening on the economic front in the United States, in states, metro areas and counties, and in the global marketplace. BEA data also offer timely insights on the economic impact of major industries, such as finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, manufacturing and health care.    

BEA’s existing economic statistics are available for free on our website, our interactive tables and through our API.  We also have some additional handy data tools to easily and quickly obtain fast facts on regional economic activity (BEARFACTS) as well as trade and investment activity between the United States and another country of your choosing (Country Facts).  

In addition, BEA also has available a regional economic impact tool that enables entrepreneurs  and other business people to estimate the regional impacts of a variety of projects, such as the development of a new manufacturing plant or the construction and development of a sports stadium. That tool is called the Regional Input-Output Modeling System, or RIMS II, for short, and is available for a fee.   

Debuting on Nov. 30, BEA will release new statistics detailing new foreign direct investment in the United States. These statistics, which cover new direct investments initiated in 2014, will provide information on:

• The total amount of new investment foreigners are making in the United States.
• The industries that are drawing new foreign investment.
• The states attracting new investments as well as the countries of the foreign owners.
• The type of investment made – creating a new company or acquiring or expanding an existing one. “Greenfield” investment includes establishments of new companies by foreign investors and expansions of already existing companies.

Then, on Dec. 1, BEA will begin producing on a regular basis another new set of statistics detailing how much consumers are spending in each state on goods and services, such as food and beverages, gasoline and other energy products, housing and utilities and health care.

The data, called Personal Consumption Expenditures by State, will provide statistics for 2014 back to 1997, a series that will give entrepreneurs and other business people useful information to analyze consumer buying trends over time.

One week later, BEA on Dec. 10 will start producing on a regular basis yet another new set of statistics providing information on states’ economic performance each quarter, including which industries are helping or hindering economic activity.

 Industries tracked include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, utilities, retail, transportation and warehousing, information, and finance and insurance. These new statistics called Gross Domestic Product by State will provide data for the second quarter of 2015 back to the first quarter of 2005.