Economics and Statistics
Administration
Mission Statement
Help maintain a sound federal statistical system that monitors and measures America’s rapidly changing economic
and social arrangements; Improve understanding of the key forces at work in the economy and the opportunities
they create for improving the well-being of Americans; Develop new ways to disseminate information using the
most advanced technologies; Support the information and analytic needs of the Commerce Department, the
Executive Branch, and the Congress.
The United States is the world’s economic information leader, due in large part to the timely and accurate data and
analyses produced by the agencies of the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA). These agencies, the Bureau
of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), collect vital demographic and economic data through the
decennial census and other surveys and produce key economic measures such as the gross domestic product and the balance
of payments. The data produced by BEA and the Census Bureau and the analyses produced by ESA headquarters affect the
lives of all Americans by providing the President, Congress, local communities, and businesses with the information they need
to make sound decisions.
ESA Headquarters
ESA headquarters (comprised of the Office of the Under Secretary, the Chief Economist, the Policy Support staff, and
STAT-USA) has four main roles: (1) to provide executive direction, management, financial analysis, and administrative support
to all ESA agencies; (2) to evaluate current economic conditions; (3) to provide economic policy analysis; and (4) to provide
data dissemination services.
The Office of the Under Secretary provides leadership and executive oversight of all activities of ESA. The Chief Economist
and the Office of Economic Conditions monitor and interpret major new economic statistics with the goal of anticipating the
future directions of the economy. The economists of the Policy Support Office conduct research on the factors contributin