Focus on Employment in Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services

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

Using GeoFRED® to Compare Internet Use Across Countries

This assignment provides instructions on creating the map below and suggests prompts for in-class discussion. See how you do on our sample discussion question below.

Click on the map above to view an interactive version.
Question: Name three countries where fewer than 20 of every 100 persons have access to the internet.

Learning About the Economics of Information to Forecast Changes in Gross Domestic Product

In the fourth quarter of 2020, real gross domestic product increased. Read on for more details and a list of resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster.

BEA Headline:

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.”

Release Spotlight:

“The digital economy accounted for 6.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, or $1.35 trillion, in 2017.”
https://www.bea.gov/news/blog/2019-04-04/digital-economy-accounted-69-percent-gdp-2017

Resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster:

• Review: “FRED®, the St. Louis Fed’s Force of Data.“
• Review: “The Diffusion of Electronic Business in the United States.“
• Economic Synopses: “Taxing Electronic Commerce: Boon or Boondoggle?“
• FRED Blog: “What the young and old spent on reading materials: 2019 vs. 1984.“

Quiz Yourself on Different Aspects of the Economics of Information

The graph above shows spending on reading for seven age groups.

Q1. As of 2019, which age group spent the most on reading?

Q2. As of 2019, which age group spent the least on reading?

The map above shows the number of persons employed in the information industry in each U.S. metropolitan statistical area (MSA).

Q1. As of 2020, where are most people employed in the information industry located—on the coasts or on the interior?

Q2. As of 2020, where are most people employed in the information industry located—in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro or in New York-Newark-Jersey City Metro?

Q1. Name two industrial sectors where the producer price index for advertising space and time sales in 2020 is above its 2010 value.

Q2. In which industrial sector has the producer price index for advertising space and time sales constantly declined since 2010?

Now that you’ve aced this quiz, give it to 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 Nominal and the Real Value of the Minimum Wage

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

Using GeoFRED® to Compare Minimum Wages Across States

This assignment provides instructions on creating the map below and suggests prompts for in-class discussion. See how you do on our sample discussion question below.

Click on the map above to view an interactive version.
Question: Name three states where the minimum wage was above $10 an hour in 2020. Be sure to look at all 50 states.

Learning About the Minimum Wage to Forecast Changes in Employment

In January 2021, nonfarm payroll employment changed little. Read on for more details and a list of resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster.

BLS Headline:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In January 2021…nonfarm payroll employment changed little.”

Release Highlight:

“Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in January (+49,000) but is below its February 2020 level by 9.9 million, or 6.5 percent.”
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster:

• Page One Economics: “Would Increasing the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?“
• Economic Synopses: “The Evolution of St. Louis’s Wage Distribution.“
• Economic Synopses: “What Could We Have Expected from a $10 Minimum Wage in the City of St. Louis?“
• FRED Blog: “Comparing the minimum wage with the average wage.“

Quiz Yourself on the Economics of the Minimum Wage

The graph above shows the value of the minimum wage as a proportion of the average wage (in blue) and the mean value of that calculation (in purple).

Q1. Between 1965 and 2020, what was the mean value of the minimum wage as a proportion of the average wage?

Q2. Between 1965 and 2020, when was the minimum wage closest in value to the average wage?

Q3. Between 1965 and 2020, when did the minimum wage represent the smallest fraction of the average wage?

The graph above shows the value of the minimum wage periodically revised by Congress (in blue), and its 1984 value had it been indexed to the consumer price index at that time (in purple).

Q1. As of December 2020, which one is higher?

Q2. Between 1984 and 2020, was the minimum wage set by Congress ever higher than the hypothetical inflation-indexed 1984 minimum wage?

Q1. When did Congress first set a minimum wage for farm workers?

Q2. When did Congress make the minimum wage for farm workers and nonfarm workers equal?

Q3. When the two minimum wages set by Congress were different, which one was lower?

Now that you’ve aced this quiz, give it to 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 Consumption of Goods and Services

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

Using GeoFRED® to Compare Per Capita Personal Consumption Expenditures

This assignment provides instructions on creating the maps below and suggests prompts for in-class discussion. See how you do on our sample discussion question below.

Click on the map above to view an interactive version.
Question: Name two states where per capita consumption of goods exceeded $15,000 a year in 2019. Don’t overlook Alaska and Hawaii!

Again, click on the map above to view an interactive version
Question: Name two states where per capita consumption of services exceeded $40,000 a year in 2019. Don’t overlook Alaska and Hawaii!

Learning About the Economics of Consumption to Forecast Changes in Gross Domestic Product

In the fourth quarter of 2020, real gross domestic product increased. Read on for more details and a list of resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster.

BEA Headline:

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.”

Release Highlight:

“The increase in real GDP reflected increases in…personal consumption expenditures (PCE).”
https://www.bea.gov/news/2021/gross-domestic-product-4th-quarter-and-year-2020-advance-estimate

Resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster:

• Page One Economics: “Smoothing the Path: Balancing Debt, Income, and Saving for the Future.“
• Page One Economics: “Consumer Spending and the COVID-19 Pandemic.“
• Economic Synopses: “The Effects of Wealth Bubbles on Consumption.“
• FRED Blog: “Consumption of goods and services during the COVID-19 recession.“

Quiz Yourself on the Economics of Consumption

Q1. As of 2020, which is the largest category of real personal consumption expenditures?

Q2. As of 2020, which is the smallest category of real personal consumption expenditures?

Q1. As of 2020, which is the largest category of real personal consumption expenditures on services?

Q2. As of 2020, which is the smallest category of real personal consumption expenditures on services?

Q1. As of 2019, what percentage of each dollar spent in education and recreation services is for recreation?

Q2. As of 2002, what percentage of each dollar spent in education and recreation services is for recreation?

Now that you’ve aced this quiz, give it to your students using this dashboard. To customize this dashboard, just click the “Save to My Account” button at the top of the dashboard.