How Inflation and Unemployment Are Calculated : Planet Money : NPR

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The U.S. Department of Labor building in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2020.

When someone says “the economy is doing well,” what does that really mean? For workers, employers, or the country as a whole? According to what calculation? How can it be measured in numbers?

The world of economics is full of “measurements.” Gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, consumer confidence. Over time, various government agencies, universities, and private companies have come up with ways to measure various aspects of the economy. These metrics influence all sorts of big decisions—like government policy, business strategy, and maybe even your personal career choices or investments.

On today’s show, we’re going to lift the veil on two of those standards. We’re going to meet the people responsible for setting the numbers for two important indicators of our economic well-being: the official U.S. government inflation report and the monthly unemployment and employment numbers. Let’s take a look at how these indicators are set.

This episode is hosted by Darian Woods, Stacey Vanek Smith and Wailin Wong. Produced by Julia Ritchey and Jess Kung, with assistance from James Sneed. Engineering by Gilly Moon and James Willetts. Fact-checked by Michael He and Corey Bridges, edited by Kate Concannon and Viet Le. Alex Goldmark is an executive producer for Planet Money.