National Income and Product Accounts

Percent changes in quarterly NIPA estimates are expressed at annual rates, which show Percent changes in quarterly NIPA estimates are expressed at annual rates, which show the value that would be registered if the pace of activity measured for a quarter were maintained for a full year. Calculating these changes requires a variant of the compoundinterest formula.

Quarterly and monthly NIPA estimates in current and chained dollars are presented at annual rates, which show the value that would be registered if the level of activity measured for a quarter or for a monthwere maintained for a full year. Annual rates are used so that periods of different lengths—for example, quarters and years—may be easily compared. These annual rates are determined simply by multiplying the estimated level of activity by 4 (for quarterly data) or by 12 (for monthly data).

Periodic updates of the NIPA estimates usually carried out each summer. These updates incorporate newly available source data that are based on more extensive annual surveys, on annual data fromother sources, and on revisions to the monthly and quarterly source datathat were not available for incorporation into the NIPA current quarterly estimates. The revisions cover at a minimum the 3 most recent calendar years, but BEA may extend the revision period to allow for the incorporation of improvements in methodologies whenwarranted. Also referred to as “annual revisions.”

Part of BEA’s industry economic accounts, these accounts consist ofthe annual input-output accounts and the GDP-by-industryaccounts.

First vintage of the three sets of current quarterly estimates of GDPand its components, the advance estimates are released near the end of the month that follows the end of the reference quarter. For most GDP components, the advance estimates are based on source data that cover2 or 3 months of the quarter and that are subject to revision.

Data tabulated as a byproduct of administering programs of thefederal government and of state and local governments—such as processing corporate tax returns, regulating public utilities, issuing building permits, and handling unemployment insurance claims.

Method of accounting that records the sale of goods or assets when ownership is transferred, the sale of services when they are provided,the generation of output when goods or services are produced, the consumption of intermediate goods and services when they are used, and the compensation of employees when it is earned.