Federal Reserve Economic Data

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Fertility in FRED

Posted on January 5, 2015

FRED recently added fertility data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators. A few examples are listed above, and they show a general trend toward lower fertility. The measure used here is the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. A rate just above two is necessary to replenish a population, taking into account that some children die before becoming fertile and having children of their own. In the graph above, a few observations are remarkable: 1. The United States remains at just two children per woman. 2. China experienced a big drop, no doubt due to the one-child policy; but the number is still quite a bit above one child, as the policy does not apply to everyone. 3. Mexico also exhibits a sharp decline. 4. This decline is more recent for Benin, which has still quite a ways to go.

How this graph was created: Look for the fertility series, select the countries you’re interested in, and add them to the graph. There are several pages of listings, so you may need to add some from the graph page itself.

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann.

View on FRED, series used in this post: SPDYNTFRTINBEN, SPDYNTFRTINCHN, SPDYNTFRTINMEX, SPDYNTFRTINUSA

New life (expectancy data) in FRED

Posted on December 29, 2014

FRED recently added World Development Indicators data on life expectancy at birth, which are from the World Bank. The graph above includes some of the available data. The green line shows that life expectancy has been steadily increasing in the world, but that the experience varies across countries. Consider the three large countries shown in the graph: the U.S., China, and Russia. Life expectancy in the U.S. has also been steadily increasing, but not that fast, likely because it was already high to begin with. China had a big surge in the 1960s. The Russian experience has definitely been rocky, with several decreases at several points.

How this graph was created: Search for “life expectancy,” choose the countries you’re interested in, and add them to the graph. There are several pages of listings, so you may need to add some from the graph page itself.

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann.

View on FRED, series used in this post: SPDYNLE00INCHN, SPDYNLE00INRUS, SPDYNLE00INUSA, SPDYNLE00INWLD

Where are the teenage employees?

Posted on December 22, 2014

When I was in high school, I had a job. As you can see from the graph above, up until 2001, over 50% of teenagers had jobs. Since then, the percent of teenagers employed—including part-time jobs—has declined and continues to decline. The most recent labor force participation rate for 16- to 19-year-olds is at just under 35%. Likely, most parents and teenagers see school as the first priority, as the rewards from finishing school have grown. Many years ago, teenagers participated in the labor force at a higher rate than adults over 55 years of age. But the percent of workers aged 55 and over has risen by almost 10% since then, at least in part because they are in better health during those later years and many retirees seek what they did as teenagers: part-time jobs.

How this graph was created: Search for “Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate” and then filter for the tag “sa,” which is “seasonally adjusted.” (NOTE: The seasonality of teenage employment is pretty extreme due to summer jobs.) And choose the ages 16-19 and over 55.

Suggested by Katrina Stierholz

View on FRED, series used in this post: LNS11300012, LNS11324230


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