One of the more impressive sources of interactive US social and economic data is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (formerly known as Selective Access Data) site. Showing the tremendous potential of the web as a source of data retrieval, this site allows the user, through forms-based interfaces, to extract data in specific formats. BLS allows users to specify exactly what data they would like from a large selection of its databases, including local area unemployment statistics, consumer price indexes, and producer price indexes, among others. A user can retrieve a customized table of historical data. This data can then be formatted in various ways for output to statistical analysis programs or spreadsheets.
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