Macroeconomics is the study of the problems that affect the economy as a whole; this includes growth or lack of growth, recessions, unemployment and inflation, etc. There are many private and public research institutions that constantly monitor the present state and expected future state of the US economy. These public institutions such as CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the CEA (Council of Economic Advisors) and private institutions such as NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research), etc take a leading role in these endeavors. For example, NBER focuses on four separate economic areas, Industrial Production, Employment, Real Income, and Wholesale and Retail sales.If there is a downturn in the economy we are interested in the depth of the downturn, duration and the dispersion of the recession.

Discuss the importance of these measures? How they impact you at the personal or community level?