FRED Economic Wellbeing Data Directory

This directory contains data files generated by the update.ts script.

Files

latest.json - Raw JSON data from FRED API (all indicators with full observation history)
latest.txt - Transformed pipe-delimited format for Substrate (all observations)
update.log - Update script execution log (if present)

Update Process

Run the update script from the parent directory:

# Set your FRED API key (get free key at https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html)
export FRED_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

# Run update script
./update.ts

Data Freshness

Different indicators have different update frequencies:

Weekly: Financial Stress Index (STLFSI4), 30-Year Mortgage Rate (MORTGAGE30US)
Monthly: Consumer Sentiment (UMCSENT), Unemployment indicators, Personal Saving Rate (PSAVERT)
Quarterly: Debt Service Ratio (TDSP), Credit Card Delinquency (DRCCLACBS), Median Home Price (MSPUS)
Annual: GINI Income Inequality Index (SIPOVGINIUSA)

Run weekly updates to capture high-frequency indicators; monthly updates sufficient for most indicators.

Data Format

Pipe-Delimited Format (latest.txt)

RECORD ID | SERIES ID | SERIES NAME | DATE | VALUE | FREQUENCY | DESCRIPTION
DS-00004-TDSP-2023-Q1 | TDSP | Household Debt Service Ratio | 2023-01-01 | 9.69 | Quarterly | Household Debt Service Payments as % of Disposable Personal Income

JSON Format (latest.json)

[
  {
    "seriesId": "TDSP",
    "seriesName": "Household Debt Service Ratio",
    "description": "Household Debt Service Payments as % of Disposable Personal Income",
    "frequency": "Quarterly",
    "observations": [
      {
        "date": "2023-01-01",
        "value": "9.69",
        "realtime_start": "2023-06-09",
        "realtime_end": "2023-06-09"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Source

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

API Documentation: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/