Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis  

Release: Gross Domestic Product  

Units:  Billions of Dollars, Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate

Frequency:  Quarterly

Notes:

BEA Account Code: W005RC

A Guide to the National Income and Product Accounts of the United States (NIPA) - (http://www.bea.gov/national/pdf/nipaguid.pdf)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics  

Release: Consumer Price Index  

Units:  Index 1982-1984=100, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Notes:

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items (CPIAUCSL) is a price index of a basket of goods and services paid by urban consumers. Percent changes in the price index measure the inflation rate between any two time periods. The most common inflation metric is the percent change from one year ago. It can also represent the buying habits of urban consumers. This particular index includes roughly 88 percent of the total population, accounting for wage earners, clerical workers, technical workers, self-employed, short-term workers, unemployed, retirees, and those not in the labor force.

The CPIs are based on prices for food, clothing, shelter, and fuels; transportation fares; service fees (e.g., water and sewer service); and sales taxes. Prices are collected monthly from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 retail establishments across 87 urban areas. To calculate the index, price changes are averaged with weights representing their importance in the spending of the particular group. The index measures price changes (as a percent change) from a predetermined reference date. In addition to the original unadjusted index distributed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also releases a seasonally adjusted index. The unadjusted series reflects all factors that may influence a change in prices. However, it can be very useful to look at the seasonally adjusted CPI, which removes the effects of seasonal changes, such as weather, school year, production cycles, and holidays.

The CPI can be used to recognize periods of inflation and deflation. Significant increases in the CPI within a short time frame might indicate a period of inflation, and significant decreases in CPI within a short time frame might indicate a period of deflation. However, because the CPI includes volatile food and oil prices, it might not be a reliable measure of inflationary and deflationary periods. For a more accurate detection, the core CPI (CPILFESL) is often used. When using the CPI, please note that it is not applicable to all consumers and should not be used to determine relative living costs. Additionally, the CPI is a statistical measure vulnerable to sampling error since it is based on a sample of prices and not the complete average.

For more information on the consumer price indexes, see:
Bureau of Economic Analysis. "CPI Detailed Report." 2013.
Handbook of Methods
Understanding the CPI: Frequently Asked Questions

Source: U.S. Census Bureau  

Release: National Population Estimates  

Units:  Thousands, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Notes:

The intercensal estimates for 1990-2000 for the United States population are produced by converting the 1990-2000 postcensal estimates prepared previously for the U. S. to account for differences between the postcensal estimates in 2000 and census counts (error of closure). The postcensal estimates for 1990 to 2000 were produced by updating the resident population enumerated in the 1990 census by estimates of the components of population change between April 1, 1990 and April 1, 2000-- births to U.S. resident women, deaths to U.S. residents, net international migration (incl legal & residual foreign born), and net movement of the U.S. armed forces and civilian citizens to the United States. Intercensal population estimates for 1990 to 2000 are derived from the postcensal estimates by distributing the error of closure over the decade by month. The method used for the 1990s for distributing the error of closure is the same that was used for the 1980s. This method produces an intercensal estimate as a function of time and the postcensal estimates,using the following formula: the population at time t is equal to the postcensal estimate at time t multiplied by a function. The function is the April 1, 2000 census count divided by the April 1, 2000 postcensal estimate raised to the power of t divided by 3653.