Focus on Measures of Core Inflation

This handout provides instructions on building the graph below and includes writing prompts for out-of-class assignments.

From the FRED Blog

The post “Gauging underlying inflation” briefly describes the concept of underlying inflation trends and reviews FRED’s substantial repository of measures of trend inflation. You can also check this short video of Mark Wright explaining various inflation measures.

Quiz Yourself on Measures of Core Inflation

The FRED graph shows three personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index data series from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis: the all-items inflation rate (the green dotted line); one inflation rate excluding the energy and housing categories (the blue line); and one inflation rate excluding the food, energy, and housing categories (the red line).

Q1. Between April 2020 and May 2021, which inflation rate was highest?

Q2. Between June 2021 and February 2023, which inflation rate was highest?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

The FRED graph shows two consumer price index (CPI) inflation rates: the all-items inflation rate from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (the black dashed line) and the underlying inflation gauge, full data set measure, from the New York Fed (the red line).

Q1. Between July 2020 and February 2021, which inflation rate was higher?

Q2. Between March 2021 and May 2023, which inflation rate was lower?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

The FRED graph shows two personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation rates: the PCE inflation rate from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (the orange dotted line) and the trimmed mean PCE inflation rate the Dallas Fed (the green dashed line).

Q1. Between April 2020 and January 2021, which inflation rate was higher?

Q2. Between February 2021 and February 2023, which inflation rate was higher?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

You can share these graphs with your students using this dashboard. To customize this dashboard, just click the “Save to My Account” button at the top of the dashboard.

Focus on the Federal Budget Deficit

This handout provides instructions on building the graph below and includes writing prompts for out-of-class assignments.

From the FRED Blog

The post “The federal budget balance as a fraction of GDP” compares the annual balance of the federal government budget as a percent of GDP during the fiscal and calendar years. The choice of calendars has some noticeable impacts on the overall calculation.

Quiz Yourself on Government Budget Deficits

Q1. The FRED graph shows the two major sources of revenue for state and local governments: transfers from the federal government (the blue line) and their own tax receipts (the red line). Between Q1 1960 and Q2 2023, which source of revenue was larger?

Q2. Why did transfers from the federal government to state and local governments spike during Q2 2020 and Q2 2021?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

Q1. The FRED graph shows three different sources of state and local tax revenue. Which source of tax revenue decreased the most, in millions of US dollars, during the 2020 recession?

Q2. Which source of tax revenue decreased the least, in millions of US dollars, during the 2020 recession?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

Q1. The FRED map shows projected net borrowing (the yellow areas) and lending (the green areas) by governments as a percent of their gross domestic products (GDP). Name two nations projected to report larger receipts than outlays (i.e., be net lenders) in 2028.

You can share these graphs with your students using this dashboard. To customize this dashboard, just click the “Save to My Account” button at the top of the dashboard.

Focus on the Burden of Housing

Use the FRED map below to compare the percent of households in each US county burdened by housing expenses. A household is considered burdened if it has to dedicate at least 30 percent of its income to rent or mortgage payments. Learn more about the topic with this FRED Blog Reading Q&A.

From the FRED Blog

The post “Are home prices decreasing?” uses three different home price indexes to answer the question with an unequivocal “it depends.”

Quiz Yourself on Home Prices

Q1. The FRED graph shows consumer price index values for renting (the blue line) and owning (the red line) a home. Between January 1983 and July 2023, which price index value increased more?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

Q1. The FRED map shows the percent change from year ago in the quarterly all-transactions house price index by states during Q2 2023. Name the nine states and state-equivalents where home prices decreased.

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

Q1. The FRED graph shows home prices and the homeownership rate in the United States between January 1987 and March 2018. Notice how, until 2006, both the price of houses and the homeownership rate increased. How did that relationship change between 2006 and 2016?

Q2. Use the date slider located directly below the horizontal axis of the graph to see data after 2016. How did the price of houses and the homeownership rate change since then?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

You can share these graphs with your students using this dashboard. To customize this dashboard, just click the “Save to My Account” button at the top of the dashboard.

Focus on Job Volatility

Use the FRED graph below to compare the employment of three different categories of people. Some groups of workers are hired and fired more quickly than others, making their employment volatile. Learn more about the topic with this FRED Blog Reading Q&A.

From the FRED Blog

The post “Measuring uncertainty and volatility with FRED data” uses data from two different sources to describe the difference between uncertainty and volatility in financial markets.

Quiz Yourself on Uncertainty and Volatility

Q1. The FRED graph shows the percent change from year ago in the four components of gross domestic product according to the expenditure approach. Between Q1 2007 and Q2 2023, which component consistently changed by the largest amounts and most frequently?

Q2. Use the date slider located directly below the horizontal axis of the graph to see data from the 1970s. What was the growth rate of real net exports of goods and services on Q2 1976?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

Q1. The FRED graph shows the percent change from year ago in the all-items consumer price index and three gasoline and energy consumer price index series. Between January 2007 and June 2023, which consumer item was more volatile, energy overall or gasoline specifically?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

Q1. The FRED graph shows the macroeconomic uncertainty index one month, three months, and one year ahead. Compare the peaks and troughs during economic expansions and recessions. When are economic conditions more unpredictable, during expansions or during recessions?

Read this FRED Blog post to learn more about those data.

You can share these graphs with your students using this dashboard. To customize this dashboard, just click the “Save to My Account” button at the top of the dashboard.