Economic Indicators

For quick reference, Sage offers a complimentary update on chief economic indicators on both a national and local level.

Monthly National Economic Indicators Feb-2012 Mar-2012 Monthly % chg from latest available Year-over-year % chg from latest available
Employment (Thousands, SA)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
132,701 132,821 0.1% 1.5%
Unemployment Rate (SA)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
8.3 8.2 -1.2% -7.9%
CPI (Index, 1982-84=100, SA)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
228.433 229.098 0.3% 2.6%
Retail Sales ($millions, SA)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
407,872 411,069 0.8% 6.2%
Construction Spending ($millions, SA)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
802,270 808,069 0.1% 6.0%
Vehicle Sales (Millions, SAAR)
Source: AutoData Corp.
15.1 14.4 -4.6% 9.9%
Existing-Home Sales (Millions, SAAR)
Source: National Association of Realtors
4.60 4.59 -2.6% 5.2%
Median Existing House Prices ($thousand, SA)
Source: National Association of Realtors
155.6 156.6 5.3% 2.5%
Consumer Confidence (Index, 1985=100)
Source: Conference Board
71.6 70.8 -2.0% 10.0%
Trade Balance ($millions)
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
-45.4 -51.8 -6.4 (net chg) -5.7 (net chg)
Quarterly National Economic Indicators 2011 Q4 2012 Q1 Quarterly % chg from latest available Year-over-year % chg from latest available
Real GDP (ann. % chg)
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
2.95% 2.20% NA NA
Personal Income ($billions, SAAR)
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
13,162.1 13,281.7 0.9% 3.4%
Charts: Monthly and Quarterly National Economic Indicators
Employment (Thousands, SA) 1-employment2
Unemployment Rate (SA) 2-unemploymentrate2
CPI (Index, 1982-84=100, SA) 3-cpi2
Retail Sales ($millions, SA) 4-retailsales2
Construction Spending ($millions, SA) 5-constructionspending1
Vehicle Sales (Millions, SAAR) 6-vehiclesales1
Existing-Home Sales (Millions, SAAR) 7-existinghomesales
Median Existing House Prices ($thousand, SA) 8-medianexistinghousingprices
Consumer Confidence (Index, 1985=100) 9-consumerconfidence1
Trade Balance ($millions) 10-tradebalance1
Real GDP (ann. % chg) 11-gdp1
Personal Income ($billions, SAAR) 12-personalincome1
State/Local Employment Situations Mar-2012 UR* Mar-2012 Monthly % chg from latest available Year-over-year % chg from latest available
MD Employment (Thousands, SA) 6.6 2,588.2 0.1% 2.0%
DC Employment (Thousands, SA) 9.8 738.6 0.5% 1.8%
DE Employment (Thousands, SA) 6.9 419.7 -0.2% 0.3%
NJ Employment (Thousands, SA) 9.0 3,881.8 -0.2% 1.0%
PA Employment (Thousands, SA) 7.5 5,728.4 0.1% 0.8%
VA Employment (Thousands, SA) 5.6 3,712.9 0.0% 1.0%
Baltimore Metro Employment (Thousands, SA) 7.1 1,313.9 -0.1% 1.9%
New York Metro Employment (Thousands, SA) 9.3 5,281.5 0.0% 1.6%
Philadelphia Metro Employment (Thousands, SA) 8.1 1,881.5 0.1% 0.1%
DC Metro Employment (Thousands, SA) 5.6 2,457.6 0.0% 1.3%
*Metro UR is NSA
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Charts: State/Local Employment Situations (Thousands, SA)
Maryland 13-md1
Washington, DC 14-dc1
Delaware 15-de1
New Jersey 16-nj1
Pennsylvania 17-pa1
Virginia 18-va1
Baltimore Metro 19-baltimore1
New York Metro 20-newyork1
Philadelphia Metro 21-philadelphia1
Washington Metro 22-dcmetro1
Maryland Home Sales Feb-2012 Mar-2012 Monthly % chg from latest available Year-over-year % chg from latest available
Unit Sales 3,255 4,225 29.8% -2.0%
Average Sales Price $249,648 $267,196 7.0% 0.1%
Median Sales Price $212,301 $225,601 6.3% 5.9%
Active Inventory 27,147 27,280 0.5% -24.1%
Source: Maryland Association of Realtors
Charts: Maryland Home Sales
Unit Sales 23-unitsales
Average Sales Price 24-averagesalesprice
Median Sales Price 25-mediansalesprice
Active Inventory 26-activeinventory

For a more extensive look, please refer to this PDF: Economic Indicators. If you have any questions or comments on the economic indicators covered by Sage, please e-mail Joshua Lowery at jlowery@sagepolicy.com