Top Economic Data Social Media Posts of 2024
Central Banks’ Social Media Use
The emergence of social media provided organizations, including central banks, with the ability to communicate directly with the public in a fast and inexpensive way, and the data show it’s also effective.
Looking ahead to 2025, communications teams at central banks expect to aim even higher with social media communications. According to a 2024 report from Central Banking, 78% of 32 central banks’ communications departments who responded were planning to increase their social media presence in the upcoming calendar year.
The report, Communications Benchmarks 2024, lists Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) as the three most-used social media platforms among central banks.
Economic Indicators and Insights of the Most Interest
In addition to public communication, social media provides insights into what audiences care about most in assessing the economy.
The Pew Research Center provided an overview of Americans’ view of the economy in 2024, saying 41% of respondents to a May 2024 survey viewed current economic conditions as “only fair.” The research begs the question: What economic data and insights do you care about most?
For followers of St. Louis Fed social media accounts, research and data on consumer debt, gross domestic product and the labor market have drawn the most interest so far this year.
Our most sought out social media posts are often real-time, pulse-of-the-economy updates featuring charts and data from FRED and the FRED Blog. FRED is the St. Louis Fed’s free online database of hundreds of thousands of economic data series maintained by our Research Division. These include key economic indicators such as measures of inflation, interest rates, gross domestic product and the labor market. The FRED Blog explores a variety of economic topics and features graphs from FRED.
While FRED provides the timely key economic indicators that help shape our economy, social media content is amplifying insights from our economists and other experts on popular and trending topics that impact Americans day to day. Over the course of 2024, topics that resonated with our audiences covered areas like consumer debt (credit cards, auto loans, etc.), consumer spending and household finances.
What the Top Research and FRED Data Posts Are So Far in 2024
Here’s a look at some of the most popular economic data content posted on social media in the first 10 months of 2024. Results are based on top engagements per post through Oct. 31. Engagements are interactions with a post varying from liking, reposting or commenting.
Consumer Debt
Posted Jan. 10
A post on X about consumer debt highlighted an On the Economy blog post covering debt delinquency. St. Louis Fed researchers looked at the percentage of U.S. adults in financial distress for three different types of debt: credit cards, auto loans and mortgages.
Consumer Spending
Posted May 14
Another X post on a consumer finances topic shared research on a continuing rise in U.S. credit card debt delinquency. The analysis in an On the Economy blog post suggests that delinquency rates were returning to historically more normal levels following extraordinarily low numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Wealth Inequality
Posted Feb. 9
An Instagram post highlighted analysis of household wealth data from the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances. Institute for Economic Equity researchers found that a small percentage of families held most U.S. wealth, as they wrote in an Open Vault blog post.
St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index
Posted May 18
The financial stress index is a tool to measure changes in U.S. financial market conditions. The average value of the index (normal stress) is designated as zero. Values below zero indicate below average financial market stress, while values above zero indicate above average stress. The popular X post in May noted a decrease in financial stress.
Economic News Index: Real GDP “Nowcast”
Posted July 14
The St. Louis Fed’s Economic News Index uses economic content from key monthly data to forecast quarterly real gross domestic product, or GDP, growth. The index tracks whether those data have come in stronger, weaker or as expected during the relevant quarter. GDP is a gauge of our economy’s overall size and health, and “real” GDP is adjusted for inflation. The popular July X post showed an increase in the estimate for the second quarter.
GDP Estimate
Posted Aug. 29
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates each quarter’s GDP over three consecutive months. The August post on Threads noted an increase in the second estimate for the second quarter.
Factors of Production | Economics Explained
Posted March 28
Social posts include explanations of economic concepts as well as research and data. Factors of production are the resources that people use to produce goods and services, or “the building blocks of the economy” as a popular YouTube video from our Economic Education team explained.
Full video transcript available here.
Labor Force Participation Rate
Posted April 5
The labor force participation rate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is an initial indicator of labor market trends and helps government agencies, financial markets and researchers gauge the overall health of the economy. The participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work. The April X post noted an increase in the rate in March.
FRED Turns 33
Posted April 18
FRED’s 33rd birthday and the team behind the database were the topics of the April post on LinkedIn.
Modeling Recession Forecasts
Posted Jan. 7
A FRED Blog post discussed work by St. Louis Fed economist Christopher Neely, who investigated the variables used by the organization Consensus Economics to predict the probability of recession in the next 12 months. The post on X included a FRED chart showing “smoothed” U.S. recession probabilities.
Facts about FRED Data
Posted April 25
A Facebook post gave the number of data series in FRED as of 2023 and pointed to more St. Louis Fed data facts in our annual report.
Average Fuel Prices
Posted July 10
FRED contains weekly data on average fuel prices per gallon of regular all formulations gasoline and diesel fuel. The X post noted an uptick in both series from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
How to Learn More about Economic Data and Insights
Interested in accessing more economic insights and data? FRED has 825,000-plus data series to keep you updated on the U.S. economy. Our FRED Blog features explanations highlighting various data and history. For more in-depth analyses, the St. Louis Fed has several publications with insights from our economists and other experts.
If you’re interested but unsure how to use FRED, check out the How to Use FRED playlist on the St. Louis Fed YouTube channel. You’ll find video tutorials on formatting and editing graphs, customizing data, changing data frequency, and much more.
This blog explains everyday economics and the Fed, while also spotlighting St. Louis Fed people and programs. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the St. Louis Fed or Federal Reserve System.
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