Federal Reserve Economic Data

The FRED Blog has discussed the dwindling supply of multifamily dwellings with 2 to 4 units. This trend even has its own name: the “missing middle.” Today, we tap into newly added data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia to offer additional insights into this segment of the housing market.

Our FRED graph above shows the share of mortgage balances that are 60 or more days past due, broken down by property type:

• single family (solid blue line)
• condo/co-op (dotted light blue line)
• 2 to 4 units (dashed orange line)
• townhouse/planned (dashed-dotted purple line).

Quarterly data are available since 2013. Between then and the time of this writing, overdue mortgage payments for multi-family housing with 2 to 4 units have consistently been more frequent than for any other type of residential property.

What could explain this pattern? Research coauthored by Raphael Bostic from the Atlanta Fed notes that small and medium multifamily properties are the majority of rental units across the country and also house the largest percentage of the lowest-income households. Disruptions to the flow of rental income—whether from vacancy, nonpayment, or broad economic downturns—are likely to increase the risk of mortgage delinquency.

To learn more about the role of housing on the economic well-being of US households, read this report from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Large Bank Consumer Mortgage Balances: 60 or More Days Past Due by Property Type: Accounts Based: Single Family.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Add Line” tab to search for and select “Large Bank Consumer Mortgage Balances: 60 or More Days Past Due by Property Type: Accounts Based: Condo / Co-op.” Be sure to click “Add data series.” Repeat the last two steps to add the other two data series: “Large Bank Consumer Mortgage Balances: 60 or More Days Past Due by Property Type: Accounts Based: 2-4 Units” and “Large Bank Consumer Mortgage Balances: 60 or More Days Past Due by Property Type: Accounts Based: Townhouse / Planned.”

Suggested by Sarah Lepkowitz and Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

The FRED Blog has discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the participation of different groups of workers in the US labor force. Many workers in the later stages of their careers left the labor force, taking early retirement. This phenomenon was so pronounced it became known as “excess retirements.” Today we tap into recent research from the St. Louis Fed to discuss this wave of early retirements.

Our FRED graph above shows the COVID-19-induced recession (shaded area in the center of the graph) and labor force participation data for two population groups between June 2015 and June 2025:

• People aged 25 to 54 (solid blue line, plotted on the left axis).
• People aged 55 and over (dashed green line, plotted on the right axis).

Both younger and older workers withdrew from the labor force in large numbers during the pandemic: In fact, their participation rates plummeted. Yet, within two years, the younger workers had bounced back to their pre-pandemic participation rates. But the older workers have not.

Recent research by Serdar Birinci, Miguel Faria e Castro, and Kurt See finds that workforce retirements substantially exceeded pre-pandemic trends between 2020 and 2024. Their analysis of broader demographic trends also shows an overall rising share of retirements from the labor force. This trend, by itself, will continue to depress the labor force participation rate of workers aged 55 and older for the foreseeable future.

For more about this and other research, visit the publications page of the St. Louis Fed’s website, which offers an array of economic analysis and expertise provided by our staff.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Labor Force Participation Rate – 25-54 Yrs.” Click “Edit Graph” and use the “Add Line” tab to search for and add “Labor Force Participation Rate – 55 Yrs. & Over.” Use the “Format” tab to customize Line 2 by selecting “Y-Axis position: Right.”

Suggested by Daniel Bell and Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

As students head back to school, families will once again open their wallets to buy school supplies. As many families budget for the school season, so do federal, state, and local governments.

The FRED graph above shows the share of total current expenditures devoted to education by two types of governments: federal government (blue line) and state and local governments (orange line). Each share is multiplied by 100 to show it as a percentage. Hover over the graph to see annual values for each series.

During the past 60 years, the portion of the federal government’s budget allotted to education (plotted on the right axis) has averaged 2.35% and remained relatively constant. Meanwhile, the portion of state and local governments’ budgets allotted to education (plotted on the left axis) has averaged 34.7%, peaking at almost 40% in 1966-1967. Education spending weighs heavily on state and local budgets.

Let’s take another perspective. Since 1959, overall federal spending has been, on average, 50% larger than overall state and local government spending. However, during this period, for every dollar the federal government has spent on education, state and local governments have spent, on average, $8.27. Education budgets rely primarily on state and local finances.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Government current expenditures: Federal: Education.” Click “Edit Graph” and select the “Edit Line” tab to customize the data by searching for “Federal Government Current Expenditure.” Don’t forget to click “Add.” Next, type the formula (a/b)*100 and click “Apply.” Next, use the “Format” tab to customize the line position by selecting “Y-axis position: Right.” Next, select the “Add Line” tab. Search for and add “Government current expenditures: State and local: Education.” Next, customize the data by searching for and adding “State and Local Government: Current Expenditure.” Last, type the formula (a/b)*100 and click “Apply.”

Suggested by Amzie Maienbrook and Diego Mendez-Carbajo.