Every month the U.S. Census Bureau, along with the Department of Commerce, tracks the total U.S. business sales and inventories. They release the data 6 weeks after each month ends, on the Census Bureau's web site (see links cited below). Inventories can directly affect how we see future economic growth. When inventories grow at a pace faster or slower than what is expected, firms change their production, which in turn can lead to changes in the unemployment rate and overall GDP. Having students pay attention to economic indicators can give them a sense of what is going on in the real-world economy.

The most recent Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales Report at the time this was created was October, 2021. For your convenience, I have also linked September 2021 and October 2020.

October 2021 (Links to an external site. https://www.census.gov/mtis/www/data/pdf/mtis_current.pdf) September 2021 (Links to an external site. https://www2.census.gov/mtis/historical/mtis2109.pdf) October 2020 (Links to an external site. https://www2.census.gov/mtis/historical/mtis2010.pdf )

Review each of these, to answer the question, What trend should economists have looked for in October 2020, as indicated by a significant change between 2020 and 2021? What could be a change that could be trending, based on a comparison of September 2021 and October 2021?