Q. Real time spending by broad industry in the USA?

Near Real-Time Spending from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was an early barometer of spending in the United States, BEA has been researching the use of card transaction data. This statistical product is no longer produced due to budget constraints. The last update was May 7, 2024. These data, available in near real time, can be used to develop more timely and granular estimates of spending than can be produced from the government's monthly surveys. Estimates based on these data from credit card, debit card, and gift card transactions are presented.

Note that these payment card transactions are not necessarily representative of total spending in an industry and the data have other limitations, described below. These estimates are not a substitute for BEA's monthly and quarterly official data, which are grounded in well-tested and proven methodologies.

BEA began publishing these charts and tables in response to the public and policymakers' demands for more frequent and timely data related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. An event study methodology is used to estimate the difference (in percentage points) in spending from the typical level (relative to the day of week, month, and annual trends) prior to the pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020.