Museum & Visits Regional Economy Data & Statistics Careers Blog Press Center

Equitable Growth Indicators (EGIs)

Notice
As of July 9, updates to the Equitable Growth Indicators (EGIs) do not include consumer spending data. Historical data is available below. (July 9, 2024)

The EGIs measure disparities in macroeconomic outcomes experienced by different demographic, economic, and geographic groups on both a national and regional level.

Decorative Image - variety of polaroid portraits of diverse group of people

The national EGIs present disparities in inflation, earnings (real and nominal), employment, and wealth. The regional EGIs focus on the same set of economic disparities, with the exception of wealth, across the New York-New Jersey metro area, as well as all other counties in New York state.

The demographic and economic groups include race/ethnicity, age, education, income, and veteran status (national EGIs only). The geographic groups include urban/rural status, U.S. census regions, majority minority areas, and low-income areas.

Below are highlights from the various topic areas covered by the latest release.

JULY UPDATE (Data Through May 2024)

Inflation

At the national level inflation rose in the Northeast relative to the rest of the country, moving the Northeast from being the region with the least inflation (0.72 percentage point below the national average in February 2024) to the region with the most (0.64 percentage point above the national average in May 2024).
Inflation rates have converged across groups with different incomes and ages in the region, as well as, to a lesser extent, education levels. This is in part because of rising inflation in a variety of important consumption categories in the region.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL INFLATION REPORT | REGIONAL INFLATION REPORT

Earnings

At the national level, racial, ethnic, and gender gaps in earnings declined in 2024:Q2, but this was in part because the nominal and real earnings of white workers and men declined in 2024:Q2. However, the Black-white and the gender earnings gaps continued on their gradually declining trends since the pre-pandemic period.
Average real earnings are higher in the region compared to the national average. Real earnings gaps across racial and ethnic groups, educational groups, and between men and women have remained in their long-run ranges, though the Black earnings gap and the gender earnings gap are slowly shrinking over time.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL EARNINGS REPORT | REGIONAL EARNINGS REPORT

Employment

At the national level, labor market trends have continued as in 2024:Q1, with the gender employment and LFP gaps declining and other gaps being close to their pre-pandemic levels.
Labor market gaps have declined in the region at rates similar to those of the nation as a whole. In particular, the gender gap in the region has declined faster and fallen lower than the national gender gap. On the other hand, employment and LFP gaps for Black workers relative to white workers tend to be wider in the region than in the nation, though for unemployment gaps the reverse is true.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT | REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT

Wealth Inequality (data through March 2024)

At the national level, growth in wealth after 2019 was faster for some groups with little wealth relative to population but did not meaningfully reduce stark wealth inequalities across demographic groups.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL WEALTH INEQUALITY REPORT

About the Data

The EGIs are calculated using the Consumer Expenditure Survey microdata from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); National and Regional Consumer Price Indexes from the BLS; Current Population Survey microdata from the BLS; Distributional Financial Accounts (DFA) data from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and American Community Survey microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL DATA | REGIONAL DATA

As of July 9, 2024 updates to the Equitable Growth Indicators (EGIs) do not include consumer spending data. Historical consumer spending data continues to be available:

DOWNLOAD CONSUMER SPENDING:
NATIONAL: REPORT | DATA
REGIONAL: REPORT | DATA

Release Dates

The EGIs will be released every three months at or shortly after 10 a.m. on:

2024
April 9 National Report | Regional Report
July 9 National Report | Regional Report
October 8
January 7, 2025

2023
May 25
July 6
Aug 2
Nov 29 National Report | Regional Report

How to cite these reports:
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Equitable Growth Indicators, https:// www.newyorkfed.org/research/equitable-growth-indicators.

Related reading:
Economic Inequality: A Research Series
Racial and Ethnic Wealth Inequality in the Post Pandemic Era (February 2024)
Wealth Inequality by Age in the Post Pandemic Era (February 2024)
Recent Disparities in Earnings and Employment (December 2023)
Flood-Prone Basement Housing in New York City and the Impact on Low- and Moderate-Income Renters (November 2023)
The EGIs: Analyzing the Economy Through an Equitable Growth Lens (July 2023)

Disclaimer
The Equitable Growth Indicators are not official estimates of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, its President, the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Open Market Committee.

About the EGIs

Economic analysis often focuses on understanding the average effects of a policy or program. However, it is vital to understand how macroeconomic trends vary across geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic boundaries. Analysis of the New York Fed EGIs helps bring a deeper understanding of equitable growth considerations to policymaking, research,
and practice.

We update the EGIs every three months at or shortly after 10 a.m. on the dates posted toward the bottom of this page.

The EGIs are not official estimates of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, its President, the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Open Market Committee.

Why Equitable Growth Matters

Director of Research Kartik B. Athreya shares his thoughts on how equity can lead to growth and how the resulting economic expansion can help foster more equitable opportunities.