The Census Bureau announced on Dec. 8, 2016, that it expects to release a new Advance Quarterly Services Report in 2017. BEA plans to incorporate these newly available data into the “second” estimates of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP), which are released two months after the end of the quarter. Specifically, these advance services statistics will feed into the second estimates of GDP through both private fixed investment (PFI) in purchased software and in selected entertainment, literary, and artistic originals and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services. Statistics from Census’ Advance Quarterly Services Report will reflect limited detail compared with the services data that are available as part of Census’ Quarterly Services Survey (QSS), which BEA currently incorporates into its “third” estimates of PFI in software and PCE for services that are released three months after the end of the quarter. A spreadsheet showing the PCE services components that are currently extrapolated using QSS data for the third estimate is available here. Included in this spreadsheet is a column illustrating how BEA plans to implement statistics from the Advance Quarterly Services Report for the second estimates of PCE services.
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