News Release

FOR WIRE TRANSMISSION: 2:00 P.M. EST, MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1999
BEA 99-36

Input-Output Accounts of the U.S. Economy, 1996

Note: For ease of printing, the table accompanying this release is available in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.

Interindustry Relationships in the U.S. Economy:
New Input-Output Estimates for 1996

Today's release of input-output account estimates for 1996 by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis marks a speedup in the availability of this valuable tool for analyzing the interrelationships among industries, products, and other aspects of U.S. economic activity. The input-output accounts present a detailed picture of how industries interact; specifically, they show how industries provide input to, and use output from, each other to produce gross domestic product (GDP).

These accounts can be used to analyze changes in GDP and the effects of these changes on different parts of the economy. For example, the accounts can be used to estimate the effects of a strike or a natural disaster on the economy and, supplemented with additional information, the effects of an increase in U.S. exports on employment. The accounts can also be used as the basis for developing other economic statistics on particular aspects of the economy, such as the role of transportation services and of travel and tourism.

The input-output accounts for 1996 are presented in seven matrix tables that are available for free in compressed files on BEA's Web site. A summary table showing the basic input-output relationships among nine industry aggregates and nine commodity groupings with income earned (or value added) by industry aggregate in 1996 is provided below. The tables on BEA's Web site present detailed estimates for 94 industries and 97 commodities. Information on how to access these files is also provided below.

The annual accounts for 1996 update the 1992 benchmark accounts, and they incorporate the definitional and statistical improvements that were introduced in the recently released comprehensive revision of the national income and product accounts. Benchmark accounts are based on detailed data from the economic censuses that are conducted every 5 years by the Bureau of the Census; annual accounts, which are prepared for selected years between the benchmarks, are based on less comprehensive source data.

Additional information about the annual input-output accounts for 1996 will be published in the January 2000 issue of the Survey of Current Business, BEA's monthly journal. Information on how to obtain the Survey is provided below.

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BEA's major national, international, regional, and industry estimates; the Survey of Current Business; and BEA news releases are available without charge on BEA's Web site:

STAT-USA maintains an Internet site that contains BEA estimates, the Survey of Current Business, and BEA news releases. The information available through STAT-USA is often more detailed and more timely than that available from other sources. For information about STAT-USA, go to <www.stat-usa.gov>, or call (202) 482-1986. Subscriptions for single-user unlimited access to STAT-USA's Internet information are $50.00 for 3 months or $150.00 for 1 year.

Most of BEA's estimates and analyses appear in the Survey of Current Business, BEA's monthly journal. The printed Survey of Current Business is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. First class mail: Annual subscription $120.00 domestic. Second class mail: Annual subscription $48.00 domestic, $60.00 foreign; single issue $17.25 domestic, $21.56 foreign.