Blog

No economic analysis can be considered complete without appreciation for the many different estimates and assessments that go into evaluating our country’s economy. The Department of Commerce provides many of the economic indicators that business, government and Americans of all stripes rely on, including our regular estimates of U.S. GDP growth. During 2018, real GDP grew 3.1 percent, the fastest...

After she was infected with Lyme disease at age 6, Olivia was hospitalized for months, and suffered blackouts and the inability to walk for long stretches of her young life. She had a dream of creating tools that would help other kids in her position. At 14, she is the inventor of Tick Tracker, a global app that uses federal data to help people identify ticks around them, and the founder of the...

The following is a cross-post from the U.S. Census Bureau As promotional and outreach activities are ramping up across the nation ahead of the 2020 Census — from establishing local and state complete count committees, to diverse partners coming together to reduce the undercount of children and other hard to count populations — today the U.S. Census Bureau announced its long-planned communications...

Expanding America’s broadband connectivity is critical to our nation’s economy, and a top priority for President Trump and the Department of Commerce. Today, we join with our partners in government to announce the American Broadband Initiative (ABI), a comprehensive effort to stimulate increased private sector investment in broadband. NTIA is proud to share leadership of the ABI, in partnership...

Since I started at the Department of Commerce, I have found great enjoyment visiting private businesses to learn about how they are growing their local economy and creating jobs in their communities. This has been particularly rewarding as the President makes great strides in creating the conditions for a thriving, robust economy—especially in my home state of Pennsylvania. Last week, I was...

Today, GOES-17, the second of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next-generation geostationary weather satellites, has completed its checkout phase and is now operating in the GOES West position, providing faster, more accurate, and more detailed observations used by National Weather Service forecasters to predict Pacific storm systems, severe storms, fog, wildfires, and...

The United States is making exciting changes to how computer models will be developed in the future to support the nation’s weather and climate forecast system. NOAA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have joined forces to help the nation’s weather and climate modeling scientists achieve mutual benefits through more strategic collaboration, shared resources and information....

The following is a cross-post from the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) By Tracey Murdock, FirstNet Senior Public Safety Advisor Imagine a mountain town of 7,000 residents welcoming 500,000 guests. That is the scenario that Sturgis, South Dakota, faces every summer in August. For 78 years, this Black Hills community has hosted the country’s largest motorcycle rally, and every year is a...