Federal Reserve Economic Data

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many credit card holders improved their repayment histories and enjoyed a noticeable boost in credit scores. However, research by Juan M. Sánchez and Masataka Mori at the St. Louis Fed has underscored the temporary nature of the factors driving that improvement in creditworthiness.

Our FRED graph above uses large bank credit card data, reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, to offer a complementary perspective on this topic:

• The solid blue line shows the percentage of credit card accounts that recorded an increase in their borrowing limits. Between 2013 and 2019, that percentage rose steadily, declined precipitously during 2020, and quickly bounced back to its pre-pandemic trend.
• The dashed green line shows the percentage of credit card accounts that recorded a decrease in their borrowing limits. The uptick in 2020 doesn’t stand out all that much compared with the entire period between 2013 and 2024.

Thus, the short-lived boost to credit scores referenced earlier did not seem to translate into broad changes to borrowing limits.

Our interpretation of the data matches the findings from recent research by Joanna Stavins at the Boston Fed. She notes that, as of late 2024, “any erosion of lending standards that took place during the early stages of the pandemic has been reversed.” In other words, the credit card industry has seemingly returned to its long-term, relatively stable practices.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Large Bank Consumer Credit Card Balances: Accounts with Credit Line Increase.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Add Line” tab to search for and select “Large Bank Consumer Credit Card Balances: Accounts with Credit Line Decrease.”

Suggested by Noelle Pak and Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

Visit any data series page in FRED and you’ll see a “Notes” section below the graph. The metadata there provide details that help tell the story behind the numbers. Arguably, the single most important metadata are the data units.

Our FRED graph above shows potato farming acreage in four different countries—the US, France, Germany, and Great Britain—between 1829 and 1951.

Just as languages can differ across countries, so can the units of measure. So when using data to measure the land area used to plant potatoes, potatos, Kartoffeln, or pommes de terre, it’s important to confirm all data series are using the same units.

In this case, data from continental Europe were reported using the decimal system (in hectares) and data from Great Britain and the US were reported using the imperial system (in acres). Fortunately, FRED makes data customization very easy: Use the “Edit Line” tab to select the relevant series that use hectares and input the formula a*2.47105 to effectively convert those units to acres.

After customizing the potato acreage data, we can properly compare the disparate size of potato farming across these four countries. Note the very large land area that Germany devoted to potatoes. If we hadn’t accounted for the difference in units, we could have easily drawn a completely different conclusion. What a dis-tater that could have been.

A note about the metadata in FRED’s notes section:

• Source. Name of the organization reporting the data.
• Release. Name of the publication in which the data are reported.
• Units. Standardized quantities used to measure a concept.
• Notes. Additional information about the methods used to report the data or guidelines for sharing those data.
• Suggested citation. Bibliographical citation of the data series shown in the graph, ready to copy and paste .

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Potato Crop Acreage for United States.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Add Line” tab to search for and select “Potato Crop Acreage for France.” Click on “Add data series.” Next, use the “Edit Lines” tab to select “Line 2” and customize the data by typing the formula “a*2.47105” and clicking “Apply.” Repeat the “Add data series” steps to search for and add “Potato Crop Acreage for England, Wales, Scotland, Great Britain” and “Potato Crop Acreage for Germany.” Lastly, customize the data for Germany applying the formula spelled out above.

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR)—the percentage of civilians employed or actively seeking work—has declined since the turn of the century as shown in our first FRED graph above. Previously, total LFPR had risen after an increase in women entering the workforce and a corresponding but smaller drop in men’s LFPR. Since 1990, women’s LFPR has stabilized but men’s LFPR has continued to decline at an average rate of 2.7 percentage points per decade.

Our second FRED graph above splits male workers into three age groups—15 to 24 (high school and college age); 25 to 54 (prime working age); and 55 to 64 (near-retirement). The rate for older men (orange line) has been relatively constant, but the rate for prime-age men (green line) has steadily decreased. The decline for younger men (blue line) is even more pronounced, which may be explained by more young men opting for more education.

The drop in the LFPR for prime-age men was studied by Leila Bengali, Evgeniya Duzhak, and Cindy Zhao at the San Francisco Fed. They state that the gap in  participation between prime-age male Millennials today and male Baby Boomers (when they were of prime working age) can be explained by higher incidence of postsecondary education attainment, self-reported disabilities or illnesses, and caretaking responsibilities. They also summarize other economic research that attributes this decline to changing industry structure, falling demand for jobs that prime-age men have traditionally held, and the opioid crisis.

How these graphs were created: Search FRED for and select “Labor Force Participation Rate.” Below the graph, click on the release table link, select the series, and click “Add to Graph.” Use the “Format” tab to customize line style and color. Take a similar approach for the second graph after searching for “Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Labor Force Participation Rate Male: From 15 to 24 Years for United States.”

Note: Labor force participation rates by age group in FRED are sourced from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The labor force participation rate data in the first graph is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There may be slight differences in LFPR values between the two agencies.

Suggested by Brooke Hathhorn and Michael Owyang.