Declining Response Rates Raise Questions About Reliability of Economic Data Guiding Markets
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Federal surveys measuring economic data like prices and job openings have declining response rates, raising concerns about accuracy.
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Markets have become very sensitive to economic data because it impacts Federal Reserve policy decisions.
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Lower survey response rates lead to more variability and noise in the data from month-to-month.
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Investors should be cautious about overreacting to data swings that may not reflect economic reality.
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Reasons for lower response rates include increased privacy concerns and remote work complicating survey collection.