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.
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.
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.
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.
