But the problems of identifying what consumers are buying and how the quality of the items purchased has changed is very closely related to the problem of identifying what is being produced and what inputs are going into the production.
Fortunately, over the past few months, indicators of spending, production, and job market activity have shown some signs of improvement; and, in economic projections just released, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants indicated that they expect somewhat stronger growth this year than in 2011. The outlook remains uncertain, however, and close monitoring of economic developments will remain necessary.