About the SCB

The Survey of Current Business (SCB) has served as the journal of record for the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) since 1921. The SCB offers a variety of economic content, including detailed presentations of recent data releases, explanations of annual and benchmark updates, summaries of key methodologies, updates about in-development data sets, research by BEA economists, briefings on key issues, and ongoing statistical and related innovations. Tables, charts, and links to interactive data sets—with charting and mapping functions—accompany nearly every article.

For the many corporate, government, and academic users of BEA data, the SCB is essential reading. A Google Scholar query about the SCB shows that SCB articles have long been widely cited by economists and other authors. Our articles are published in the public domain, and the information may be used without specific permission; however, we ask authors to cite our articles when appropriate (see guidelines for citing the SCB).

The SCB is published on a rolling basis on the BEA website, with content organized by date and content organized by subject. Articles are provided in interactive HTML format as well as in PDF format. In addition, every print issue going back to 1921 is available on the site in searchable format. To receive automatic email notifications when new SCB articles are published, sign up for BEA's Email Subscription Service.

We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions about the SCB. Please contact us at scb@bea.gov.

SCB staff

Danielle Helta, Managing Editor

Peter Fisk, Editor

Sallie Pisch, Editor

Colby Johnson, Graphic Designer

Ryan Byrnes, Webmaster and Graphic Designer

Kristina Maze, Contributor

100 years of the SCB

In 2021, the SCB turned 100! For over a century, BEA and its predecessor agencies have reported timely, relevant, and accurate statistics on the U.S. economy. We spent our centennial year looking back at highlights from each decade of the SCB's history with reprints from the BEA archives, profiles of top influencers, original articles, downloadable posters, and other historical content.