Census Bureau Releases Its First Mobile App Providing Real-Time Statistics on U.S. Economy

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The U.S. Census Bureau today released its first-ever mobile application, "America's Economy," which will provide constantly updated statistics on the U.S. economy, including monthly economic indicators, trends, along with a schedule of upcoming announcements. The app, which is currently available for Android mobile device users, combines statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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America's Economy is the first mobile app from the Census Bureau that provides smartphone and tablet users with the real-time government statistics that drive business hiring, sales and production decisions and assist economists, researchers, planners and policymakers. The economic indicators track monthly and quarterly trends in industries, such as employment, housing construction, international trade, personal income, retail sales and manufacturing.

The America's Economy app has been developed as part of the Census Bureau's Web Transformation Project and fulfills a key goal of President Obama's recently announced Digital Strategy to provide federal employees and the general public with greater access to government information and services. The creation of this app is also consistent with the Census Bureau's longtime mission of providing accurate statistics about the nation's growth and changes using 21^st century technology to make that information available more quickly and easily.

"The America's Economy app will empower anyone needing information about the U.S. economy with timely statistics right on their mobile devices," said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves. "The release of this app is an example of our commitment to giving taxpayers faster and easier access to the statistics we produce, including the Economic Census, that impact the lives of all Americans."

The following 16 key economic indicators will be available as part of the initial release of the app:

Census:

• Advance Monthly Retail Sales
• New Residential Construction
• New Residential Sales
• Construction Spending
• International Trade
• Advance Report Durable Goods
• Business Inventories
• Manufacturers' Goods
• Monthly Wholesale
• Homeownership Rate
• Quarterly Services Survey
• QFR – Retail Trade
• QFR – Manufacturing

Bureau of Economic Analysis:

• Gross Domestic Product
• Personal Income and Outlays

Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Unemployment Rate

Users will be able to set alerts to receive notifications when economic indicators are updated. They can also add statistical release schedules to their personal calendars. When each indicator is released, users can also share the news on both Facebook and Twitter.

America's Economy is available now for Android users and is expected be available for Apple smartphone and tablet users in the Apple App Store in the coming weeks. America's Economy is the first of three planned apps from the Census Bureau that will be made available over the next several months. Each app will be available for Apple and Android smartphones.

To learn more about the economic data the Census Bureau produces, visit: <http://www.census.gov/econ/>. To learn more about the economic data the Bureau of Economic Analysis produces, visit: <http://bea.gov/>. To learn more about the economic data the Bureau of Labor Statistics produces, visit: <http://www.bls.gov/>.

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau