Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the attached Schedule of Release Dates for Principal Federal Economic Indicators for 2001.

Principal Federal economic indicators are the major statistical series that describe the current condition of the economy. They are compiled, released, and periodically evaluated in accordance with procedures established in OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 3. As the procedures require, each agency that issues these economic indicators has provided OMB with its schedule of releases for the upcoming calendar year. If special, unforeseen circumstances make it necessary to change any scheduled release date after this consolidated schedule is issued, the agency must announce and explain the change as soon as it is known.

In accordance with Directive No. 3, each release of a principal economic indicator will include an announcement of the date and time of the next release. The last release in the calendar year will provide a schedule for the next calendar year. The OMB schedule is available electronically on the Internet at /omb/pubpress/index.html

In addition, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board at dsbb.imf.org/sdds.htm serves as the United States' primary means of disseminating release dates for those data categories required by the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standards that are not covered in the OMB Schedule of Release Dates.

Each issuing agency has an office that can provide the specific release schedule for its indicators. The telephone numbers for those offices are:

Department of Agriculture

Foreign Agricultural Service . . . . . . . . . . . . (202) 720-0888

National Agricultural Statistics Service . . . . .(202) 720-7017 or (800) 727-9540

World Agricultural Outlook Board . . . . . . . (202) 720-5447

Department of Commerce

Bureau of the Census . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (202) 482-2235

Bureau of Economic Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . (202) 606-9900

Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (202) 691-5902

Department of the Treasury

Financial Management Service . . . . . . . . . . . (202) 874-9890

Federal Reserve Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (202) 452-3206 or 3204

Attachment (23k)

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