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Notice
With this release, we are now providing a regional EGI report with associated data in addition to the national report and data. We have also added a set of wealth EGIs to the national report. (November 29, 2023)

Equitable Growth Indicators (EGIs)

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, spending (real and nominal), 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.

OCTOBER UPDATE (Released November 29)

Inflation

Housing inflation at the national level is driving most of the demographic inflation differences, in particular the higher inflation of the poorest 40 percent, and of those households headed by people under age 25.
Housing and transportation inflation in the region is driving inflation heterogeneity across groups, with minority households experiencing above-average inflation in 2023.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL INFLATION REPORT | REGIONAL INFLATION REPORT

Earnings

The Black earnings gap at the national level is slowly but consistently shrinking for both Black men and women, although it remains large.
Average real earnings are higher in the region compared to the national average. Real earnings gaps across racial and ethnic groups, educational groups, and men and women have remained in their long-run ranges, although the Black earnings gap is slowly shrinking over time.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL EARNINGS REPORT | REGIONAL EARNINGS REPORT

Employment

At the national level, gaps in employment and unemployment rates across different racial and ethnic groups have come close to pre-pandemic levels, but convergence has stalled, and in some cases reversed slightly.
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.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT | REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT

Consumer Spending

At the national level, those with lower income, less education, and the young experienced a significantly faster recovery in spending since the pandemic. The spending recovery among the young (25-34) has weakened considerably over this year, with their spending on gas declining while their spending on retail and restaurants has stalled in real terms.
There has been little growth in spending in the region since its recovery from the pandemic when compared to the rest of the nation.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL CONSUMER SPENDING REPORT | REGIONAL CONSUMER SPENDING REPORT

Wealth Inequality

At the national level, growth in wealth since the pandemic has been especially pronounced for Hispanics, people under 40 years old, people in the bottom half of the wealth distribution, the college educated, and the top 1 percent of income earners.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL WEALTH 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; American Community Survey microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau; and consumer spending data from Commerce Signals, a TransUnion company.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL DATA | REGIONAL DATA

2023 Release Dates

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

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
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)
Do Veterans Face Disparities in the Labor Market—And What Accounts for Them? (May 2023)
Understanding the Linkages between Climate Change and Inequality in the United States (November 2021)
Why Are Some Places So Much More Unequal Than Others? (December 2019)

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.