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Marketing

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

A government organization that “measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision-making,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a valuable source of market research and industry information.

If you’re on the homepage and you hover over the Data Tools drop-down menu, you’ll see a hyperlink to “Industry at a Glance.” Click on that, find your industry of interest, and explore the dozens of statistics that BLS has aggregated. 

If, for example, you’re interested in the apparel manufacturing industry — either because you’re in the industry or you sell into it — you can see how earnings, prices, and productivity figures are changing over time.

Head back to the homepage, hover over the Subjects drop-down menu, and you’ll see a section labeled "Geographic Information." Select your region of interest, filter by state or metropolitan area (if necessary), and take a tour of BLS’ enormous library of area-specific data.

Free Industry Reports

IBISWorld

Industry Reports in Statista

ABI/Inform Industry Reports

First Research Industry Profiles in ABI/Inform are a good place to start researching U.S. industries. These reports are high-level overviews of U.S. industries. Click on the correct access link above and follow these instructions to find First Research Industry Profiles.

  • Select “Publications” (to the right of “Basic Search”)

ABI/Inform menu

  • Search for “First Research Industry Profiles” and select
  • In the “Search within this Publication” field, enter in key words for your industry and search
  • This will produce a list of First Research Industry Reports on your industry.  To get more specific add keywords (ie “Restaurant” and “fast food”).

You can sort your results by date or relevance.

Business Monitor International Industry Reports, also in ABI/Inform, are have reports for industries in countries that are not the U.S.

  • Select "Browse" (to the right of "Basic Search")

ABI/Inform menu browse

  • Look under first heading "Industry and Market Research"
  • Select "Business Monitor International (BMI) Industry Reports"

Searching Government Websites

Use Site:.gov and enter your product or industry and you can find in-depth information that you may miss or be unavailable in other databases.