BVAR Forecast of GDP Growth Using Monthly Indicators

Percent Change in Real GDP from Preceding Period

(seasonally adjusted annual rates, chain-type)
Forecast Based On: 1997.2 1997.3 1997.4 1998.1 1998.2 1998.3 1998.4 1999.1 1999.2 1999.3 1999.4 2000.1 2000.2 2000.3 2000.4 2001.1 2001.2 2001.3
                                     
                                     
Complete Data for Previous Quarter n/a 1.8 1.6 3.9 2.1 4.5 2.9 4.5 3.5 3.2 2.7 5.0 4.4 1.7 2.9 2.0 2.5 1.5
                                     
Payroll Employment Month 1 n/a 2.8 1.9 4.4 1.8 2.8 2.6 3.8 2.5 3.5 3.2 5.4 4.3 -0.2 2.7 2.7 0.6 1.3
Retail Sales Month 1 n/a 2.6 1.5 4.1 2.1 2.6 2.9 3.9 2.2 3.5 2.7 5.3 3.8 0.0 2.2 2.1 0.9 1.2
Personal Consumption Expenditures Month 1 n/a 3.0 2.1 4.6 2.3 1.9 2.9 3.4 2.2 3.3 3.3 5.7 3.7 -0.4 2.0 2.1 0.1 1.1
                                     
Payroll Employment Month 2 n/a 2.5 3.0 4.7 2.8 2.2 3.1 3.1 1.7 2.7 3.1 4.2 3.8 -1.0 1.4 2.4 0.4 0.9
Retail Sales Month 2 n/a 1.9 2.7 4.9 3.1 1.9 3.1 3.6 2.2 2.9 3.3 4.6 3.3 -1.0 0.9 1.9 0.2 1.0
Personal Consumption Expenditures Month 2 n/a 3.4 3.0 5.6 2.8 2.7 3.0 4.3 2.3 3.1 3.2 4.6 3.3 -0.5 1.3 2.6 0.6  
                                     
Payroll Employment Month 3 n/a 3.4 2.1 4.8 2.8 2.3 3.3 3.7 2.1 2.5 3.3 4.6 2.5 -0.2 1.2 2.2 0.5  
Retail Sales Month 3 n/a 3.4 3.3 5.0 2.9 2.4 3.3 3.9 2.1 2.6 3.5 4.4 2.4 -0.3 1.0 2.1 0.5  
Personal Consumption Expenditures Month 3 n/a 3.7 3.5 5.2 3.7 2.6 3.0 4.5 2.0 3.0 3.5 5.4 2.4 -0.4 0.1 1.9 0.2  
                                     
Actual Advance Release 2.2 3.5 4.3 4.2 1.4 3.3 5.6 4.5 2.3 4.8 5.8 5.4 5.2 2.7 1.4 2.0 0.7  
Actual Preliminary Release 3.6 3.3 3.9 4.8 1.6 3.9 6.1 4.1 1.8 5.5 6.9 5.4 5.3 2.4 1.1 1.3 0.2  
Actual Final Release 3.3 3.1 3.7 5.4 1.8 3.7 6.0 4.3 1.6 5.7 7.3 5.5 5.6 2.2 1.0 1.2 0.3  
                                     
                                     
Notes: The forecasts in this table are generated by a BVAR (bayesian vector autoregression) model which uses monthly data on employment, retail sales, and personal consumption expenditures to predict the growth rate of real GDP. Forecast values reported in this table use the latest data available (including revisions) at the time each of these three monthly indicators are released. Forecasts for 1997.2 are not available. The model is similar to the one described in "Using Monthly Data to Predict Quarterly Output" by Robert Ingenito and Bharat Trehan, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Review, 1996:3.    
                         
Updated: September 28, 2001