Data Sources

Code

Data

Google Trends

• Description: This contains data on google searches in the US. Data comes automatically adjusted so that the highest value in each series is 100 (for the month of highest searches). The trends page also highlights related search terms. Google publishes its own statistics.
• Time Range: 2004 to present
• File Type: .csv. Data is clean.
• Frequency: Monthly
• Link

Unemployment

• Description: Unemployment rate of those aged 16 and up. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. The data comes seasonally adjusted, which means some formula is applied to account for the natural seasonality in unemployment rate in the US.
• Time Range: 1948-2020
• File Type: .xlsx. Some reshaping will be required.
• Frequency: Monthly
• Link:Link

Gasoline Prices

• Description: US gasoline prices, from the US Energy Information Administration. Contains prices on different types of gasoline, diesel, etc. Unit is dollars per gallon. Data is gathered from hundreds of gas stations across the country each Monday.
• Time Range: December 1994 - January 2021
• File Type: .xls. Minimal cleaning required
• Frequency: Monthly
• Link: Link

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

• Description: Data on households participating in the SNAP program, which is colloquially called 'food stamps'; it seeks to provide support to low income individuals and families for purchasing food. Published by the US Department of Agriculture.


• Time Range: FY1989 to FY2020


• File Type: .zip of .xls files. Annual files of monthly data that must be combined before analysis.


• Frequency: Monthly


• Link: Link

Consumer Sentiment

• Description: University of Michigan consumer sentiment data. Index is a combination of results from 5 survey questions about peoples' financial well being and expectations for the financial future for themselves and the country as a whole.
• Time Range: 1978-2020
• File Type: .xls or .csv. File is clean
• Frequency: Monthly
• Link: Link

Photo Sources:

• Google: Mitchell Luo at https://unsplash.com/photos/jz4ca36oJ_M


• Statues: Sonder Quest at https://unsplash.com/photos/1p_Qz9SLOrQ


• Gas station: Juan Carballo Diaz at https://unsplash.com/photos/jDdCGkiNUN0


• Groceries: Maria Lin Kim at https://unsplash.com/photos/8RaUEd8zD-U


• Question: Emily Morter at https://unsplash.com/photos/8xAA0f9yQnE