Federal Reserve Economic Data

All Federal Reserve Banks operate within a specific geographic area—called a district. The Cleveland Fed is in the Fourth District of the Federal Reserve System, which covers Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

The Cleveland Fed’s Survey of Regional Conditions and Expectations (SORCE) covers the Fourth District, and FRED now includes 27 of those data series.

The FRED graph above shows the broadest summary of business conditions captured by SORCE.

• Total (solid blue line)
• Manufacturing and transportation (dashed green line)
• Other (dashed orange line)

The latest value for total business conditions at the time of this writing is 8. And what does that mean?

Each index value shows the difference between the percentage of survey respondents reporting increases and the percentage reporting decreases in business conditions, including demand, employment, inflation, etc. Measures calculated this way are often called diffusion indexes.

These values vary from positive to negative: The index shows a negative value when survey respondents reporting decreases outweigh survey respondents reporting increases. It shows a positive value when survey respondents reporting increases outweigh survey respondents reporting decreases.

Between June 2014 and the time of this writing, the SORCE index values have ranged between a maximum of 67 (May 2018) and a minimum of -80 (May 2020). Most frequently, they oscillate between 30 and -20.

FRED has an array of regional Fed datasets, with a few of them listed below.

• Chicago Fed’s Midwest Economy Index
• Dallas Fed’s Texas Employment Data
• New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Total Business Conditions, Diffusion Index for Survey of Regional Conditions and Expectations (SORCE).” Click on the “Edit Graph” button and select the “Add Line” tab to search for and select “Manufacturing & Transportation Business Conditions, Diffusion Index for Survey of Regional Conditions and Expectations (SORCE).” Don’t forget to click on “Add data series.” Repeat the last two steps to search for and add “Other Industries Business Conditions, Diffusion Index for Survey of Regional Conditions and Expectations (SORCE).”

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

What’s really happening in US manufacturing?

In our FRED graph above, we compare labor productivity for all workers in the manufacturing sector alongside the share of manufacturing employment in total US nonfarm employment since 1987. The graph tells a compelling story: We’re producing more per worker in manufacturing, but with far fewer workers relative to the overall workforce.

Manufacturing productivity rose strongly from the late 1980s until the Great Recession in 2008-09. During this period, workers were producing more value per hour due to advances in automation, more-efficient production processes, and improved capital equipment. At the same time, the share of manufacturing workers in the total nonfarm workforce has been shrinking. This shows that even as factories are producing more, they require a smaller share of the labor force. Notably, these trends—often referred to as structural transformation—were underway long before the China trade shock of the early 2000s.

Since 2010 or so, we see that labor productivity in manufacturing has largely flattened, showing little growth compared with the period before 2010. Meanwhile, the decline in the manufacturing employment share has also slowed considerably.

This divergence has large implications. First, it underscores how innovation is reshaping manufacturing. The trends displayed above are consistent with ideas surrounding automation and technology adoption. Second, it challenges notions about manufacturing being a major job engine. If productivity keeps rising while the share of manufacturing employment falls, employment gains in the economy will need to come from other sectors.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for “All Employees, Manufacturing.” Above the graph on the right, click on “Edit Graph,” add a series by searching for “All Employees, Total Nonfarm,” and apply formula a/b. Open the “Add Line” tab and search for and select “Manufacturing Sector: Labor Productivity (Output per Hour) for All Workers.” Open the “Format” tab and place the legend on the right for the second line. Start the graph on 1987-01-01.

Suggested by Alexander Bick and Kevin Bloodworth II.

In 2025, many US households reported a surge in electricity prices. According to the producer price index (PPI) for residential electric power, these prices have gone up by 7% between January and August 2025. This rise in prices can be attributed to many supply and demand factors, including an aging power infrastructure and the construction of new data centers throughout the US, which are a major contributor to greater demand for electricity.

Looking at the data

Our FRED graph above shows the PPI values for both natural gas and residential electric power. Since 2015, the two have generally moved together. What stands out immediately is the sharp divergence between natural gas prices and electricity prices starting around 2023.

Natural gas has long been a core input for US power generation. As growth in supply outpaced demand, natural gas prices dropped significantly. Under normal circumstances, falling natural gas prices might ease wholesale electricity costs, but that relationship appears increasingly muted.

The steeper increases in residential electricity prices in recent months reflect structural pressures in the power sector that go beyond fuel costs. These include the need for extensive grid and transmission upgrades, rising operational costs, and surging electricity demand from large consumers such as data centers and other power-intensive facilities.

This widening gap hints at an increasingly strained electricity system, where capital investment needs and surging industrial demand are outpacing the benefits of cheaper natural gas. If these trends continue, electricity prices may remain elevated even in an environment of low fuel costs, reshaping energy planning for households, businesses, and policymakers.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “PPI Natural gas.” Above the graph, click “Edit Graph,” open the “Add Line” tab, and search for and add “PPI Residential electric.” Open the “Format” tab and place the legend of the second line to the right. Start the sample period on 2015-12-01.

Suggested by Alexander Bick and Kevin Bloodworth II.