Industry Information: Statistical Information Sources
Keep in mind
Aggregated data on industries can be found in a variety of government sources. At times the data may be a bit old. Look for the source of the information. Then check the Fondren catalog to see if Rice has an updated issue or an online version. The government does a 5-year census for manufacturing, retail, wholesale and service.
Helpful tip
The United States government collects data on most aspects of our lives. The Kelly Center provides links to government websites making finding the data easier.
Governement Sources
If unfamiliar with government source, go to the Kelley Center of Government Information's website. On Fondren's Home page use the drop down men PLACES and clock on Kelley Center. The center's page will come up and on the right there are buttons. Click Guide to Government Information. That brings up a subject list. Two helpful sections are Business & Commerce and Statistics & Data. Below are several helpful sources:
FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) – contains scanned images of historic economic statistical publications, release and documents.
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) – download, graph and track 212,000 U.S. and international time series from 62 sources.
Historical Statistics of the United States – users can graph individual tables as well as customize table and spreadsheets.
STATS America – provided by Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business to serve as a portal to U.S. data. Find recent state, county and metropolitan area data; innovation tools, reports and maps.
Commercial Sources
- Bizminer This link opens in a new windowOffers industry financial analysis benchmarks for over 5,000 lines of business and industry market trends on thousands more. Their market analysis reports are available at the national and local levels down to the zip code.
Types of reports: Industry Financial Profiles, U.S. & Local Market Research Reports, Area Demographic Profiles, Sole Proprietor/Startup Profit & Loss and Local Market Vitality Profile. - Statistical Insight This link opens in a new windowIndexes and abstracts statistical sources from the U.S. states, and international /non-governmental organizations.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowCovers up-to-date statistics on many topics from over 18,000 sources. Not only does the service give statistics it often includes graphical formats. Also included are selected dossier and industry reports, studies, and forecasts.
- Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (Current & Archive Editions) This link opens in a new windowOnline version of the excellent reference book. Has excellent subject index. The tables are easy to read. The data is often old but look at the bottom to locate source. Data given is only small part of a much bigger publication. This is a rare instance where the online version is as good as or better than the book. Data can be downloaded into Excel.