U.S. Economy
Weekly Economic Index
The Weekly Economic Index (WEI) provides a signal of the state of the U.S. economy based on data available at a daily or weekly frequency. It represents the common component of 10 different daily and weekly series covering consumer behavior, the labor market and production. It is updated Thursday at or shortly after 10:30 a.m. CT, using data available up to 8 a.m. CT.
NOTE: As of the June 16, 2022 update, the alternative measure has been discontinued.
NOTE: As of the June 16, 2022 update, the alternative measure has been discontinued.
March 16, 2023: Update
- The WEI is currently 0.96 percent, scaled to four-quarter GDP growth, for the week ended March 11, and 0.72 percent for March 4; for reference, the WEI stood at 1.38 percent for the week ended February 29, 2020.
- The increase in the WEI for the week of March 11 (relative to the final estimate for the week of March 4) is due to rises in steel production, consumer confidence, and fuel sales, and a decrease in initial unemployment insurance claims, which more than offset declines in tax withholding, retail sales, railroad traffic, and electricity output. The WEI for the week of March 4 was revised downward due to a fall in the staffing index and a rise in continuing unemployment insurance claims.
NOTES: When federal holidays occur on a publishing date or change the release schedule for the underlying data, the report is delayed by 24 hours. Data are updated at Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
WEI Authors
The WEI was developed by Daniel J. Lewis, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Karel Mertens, senior economic policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; and James H. Stock, professor of economics at Harvard University.