Plain-English definitions of the economics and public-finance terms used across GOVSPENDING.ORG. Every entry links to the live data for that concept where we track it.
Also known as: 10-Year Treasury Note
The 10-year Treasury yield is the annual return on a 10-year U.S. government note. It is the single most-referenced long-term interest rate in the U.S. economy, serving as the benchmark for 30-year fixed mortgages, corporate bond pricing, and global risk-free-rate calculations.
Full guide: 10-Year Treasury Yield — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
The 2-year Treasury yield is the annual return on a 2-year U.S. government note. It closely tracks expectations for the federal funds rate over the near term, making it the market's consensus forecast of Fed policy for the next two years.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is the average interest rate lenders charge on new 30-year fixed-rate home loans in the U.S. It is published weekly by Freddie Mac and tracks the 10-year Treasury yield plus a spread that reflects credit risk and mortgage-backed-security pricing.
Full guide: 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
Appropriations are the annual spending laws Congress passes to fund federal agencies and discretionary programs. The appropriations process produces 12 bills (one per subcommittee) that together cover all discretionary spending for a fiscal year; when they are not enacted on time, Congress passes a continuing resolution.
An authorization is a law that establishes or continues a federal program and sets the ceiling on what can be appropriated for it. Authorization and appropriation are separate steps: Congress may authorize a program at one level but fund it at a lower (or zero) level through appropriations.
A bill is a proposed piece of legislation introduced in either chamber of Congress. A bill becomes a law only after it is passed in identical form by the House and Senate and is either signed by the President, allowed to become law without signature, or enacted over a presidential veto.
Also known as: Federal Deficit, U.S. Deficit
The federal deficit is the shortfall in a given fiscal year when government outlays exceed receipts. It is financed by issuing new Treasury debt. The accumulated deficits across all years, minus any surpluses, equal the federal debt held by the public.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is the nonpartisan federal agency that provides Congress with budget and economic analysis. CBO produces cost estimates for pending legislation, 10-year budget baselines, and long-term fiscal projections used in every major budget debate.
The Congressional Budget Office is the nonpartisan federal agency that provides Congress with budget and economic analysis. CBO produces cost estimates for pending legislation, 10-year budget baselines, and long-term fiscal projections used in every major budget debate.
Cloture is the Senate procedure for ending debate and overcoming a filibuster. Invoking cloture on most legislation requires 60 votes out of 100, which is why 60 is the effective majority needed to pass non-budget bills through the Senate and send them to the President.
Core CPI is the Consumer Price Index excluding food and energy prices. Economists and policymakers watch it because food and energy are volatile — stripping them out produces a cleaner signal of the underlying inflation trend.
Core Consumer Price Index (Core CPI) — Core CPI is the Consumer Price Index excluding food and energy prices. Economists and policymakers watch it because food and energy are volatile — stripping them out produces a cleaner signal of the underlying inflation trend.
Core PCE is the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index excluding food and energy. It is the single inflation measure the Federal Reserve most closely tracks when setting monetary policy and evaluating progress toward its 2% inflation target.
Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (Core PCE) — Core PCE is the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index excluding food and energy. It is the single inflation measure the Federal Reserve most closely tracks when setting monetary policy and evaluating progress toward its 2% inflation target.
Also known as: Headline CPI, All-Items CPI
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in the prices paid by U.S. urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI is the headline inflation gauge referenced in news reports, Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, and most consumer-facing inflation discussions.
CPI is a weighted index: housing, transportation, food, energy, medical care, and apparel each contribute to the total according to their share of a typical household's spending. Year-over-year CPI change is what most people mean by 'the inflation rate.'
Full guide: CPI — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
The Consumer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices paid by U.S. urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI is the headline inflation gauge referenced in news reports, Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, and most consumer-facing inflation discussions.
A continuing resolution (CR) is a short-term spending bill Congress passes when regular appropriations have not been enacted by the start of the fiscal year. It keeps federal agencies funded — usually at prior-year levels — for a set number of days or weeks, avoiding a government shutdown while negotiations continue.
A continuing resolution is a short-term spending bill Congress passes when regular appropriations have not been enacted by the start of the fiscal year. It keeps federal agencies funded — usually at prior-year levels — for a set number of days or weeks, avoiding a government shutdown while negotiations continue.
Also known as: Statutory Debt Limit
The debt ceiling is the statutory cap on the total amount of money the U.S. Treasury is authorized to borrow. When outstanding debt approaches the limit, Congress must raise or suspend it; otherwise the Treasury cannot issue new securities to pay obligations Congress has already authorized.
Full guide: Debt Ceiling — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
Debt held by the public is the portion of federal debt owed to investors outside the U.S. government — individuals, mutual funds, pension funds, foreign central banks, and the Federal Reserve. It is the most economically meaningful debt measure because it represents actual borrowing from the private economy.
Full guide: Debt Held by the Public — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
The debt-to-GDP ratio expresses the federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product. It is the standard measure of a government's debt burden relative to the size of its economy and is widely used for cross-country comparisons and fiscal-sustainability analysis.
Full guide: Debt-to-GDP Ratio — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
Discretionary spending is federal spending that Congress sets each year through the annual appropriations process — defense, federal courts, highways, education, research, and most agency operations. It makes up roughly a quarter to a third of total federal outlays.
Also known as: National Debt, U.S. National Debt
The federal debt (or national debt) is the total amount the U.S. government owes to bondholders and to itself. It equals the cumulative sum of every annual deficit plus interest, minus every surplus. The Treasury publishes the exact figure daily in the 'Debt to the Penny' report.
Federal debt has two parts: debt held by the public (Treasuries owned by investors, foreign governments, and the Federal Reserve) and intragovernmental holdings (Treasuries held by federal trust funds such as Social Security). Commentary usually refers to gross federal debt — the sum of both.
Also known as: Fed Funds Rate, Fed Target Rate
The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which U.S. banks lend reserve balances to each other overnight. The Federal Open Market Committee sets a target range for this rate as its primary monetary-policy tool; changes ripple through Treasury yields, mortgage rates, and the broader cost of credit.
Full guide: Federal Funds Rate — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
Also known as: Government Spending
Outlays are actual payments the federal government makes during a fiscal year — for salaries, Social Security and Medicare benefits, defense contracts, interest on the debt, and all other programs. Outlays differ from 'budget authority,' which is what Congress authorizes to be spent and may be drawn down across multiple years.
Full guide: Federal Outlays — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
Also known as: Government Revenue, Federal Tax Revenue
Receipts are the revenues the federal government collects during a fiscal year — primarily from individual income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, excise taxes, and customs duties. Individual income and payroll taxes together account for the overwhelming majority of federal receipts.
Full guide: Federal Receipts — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
The U.S. federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends — fiscal year 2026 begins on October 1, 2025. All federal budget data, receipts, outlays, and deficits are reported on this fiscal-year calendar.
Fiscal Year (FY) — The U.S. federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends — fiscal year 2026 begins on October 1, 2025. All federal budget data, receipts, outlays, and deficits are reported on this fiscal-year calendar.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the nonpartisan audit and investigative arm of Congress. It reviews how federal funds are spent, evaluates program performance, and publishes reports and recommendations that often drive subsequent legislation and oversight hearings.
The Government Accountability Office is the nonpartisan audit and investigative arm of Congress. It reviews how federal funds are spent, evaluates program performance, and publishes reports and recommendations that often drive subsequent legislation and oversight hearings.
Headline inflation is the full inflation rate including food and energy. Core inflation excludes those two volatile categories to reveal the underlying price trend. Consumers care about headline because they pay it; central banks watch core because it is more persistent and a better guide to future inflation.
Initial claims are the number of Americans who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time in a given week. Reported every Thursday by the Department of Labor, it is the highest-frequency labor-market indicator and a timely signal of rising or falling layoffs.
Also known as: Net Interest
Interest expense is what the federal government pays bondholders for the use of borrowed money — the annual cost of carrying the debt. As the debt grows and as interest rates rise, interest expense claims a larger share of total outlays and competes with discretionary programs for budgetary room.
Full guide: Interest Expense on the National Debt — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
Intragovernmental holdings are Treasury securities held by federal trust funds — chiefly the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, along with military and civil-service retirement funds. These are debts the government owes to itself and are not traded on public markets.
JOLTS is a monthly BLS survey that reports job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs across the U.S. economy. The quits rate is widely watched as a gauge of worker confidence, and the job-openings-to-unemployed ratio is a standard measure of labor-market tightness.
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) — JOLTS is a monthly BLS survey that reports job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs across the U.S. economy. The quits rate is widely watched as a gauge of worker confidence, and the job-openings-to-unemployed ratio is a standard measure of labor-market tightness.
The labor force participation rate is the share of the working-age civilian population that is either employed or actively looking for work. A falling participation rate can make the unemployment rate look better without any gain in employment, because people who stop searching are no longer counted as unemployed.
Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) — The labor force participation rate is the share of the working-age civilian population that is either employed or actively looking for work. A falling participation rate can make the unemployment rate look better without any gain in employment, because people who stop searching are no longer counted as unemployed.
M2 is a broad measure of the U.S. money supply. It includes currency in circulation, checking and savings deposits, retail money-market funds, and small time deposits. M2 growth is a long-running indicator of monetary conditions and, with long lags, of inflation pressure.
M2 Money Supply (M2) — M2 is a broad measure of the U.S. money supply. It includes currency in circulation, checking and savings deposits, retail money-market funds, and small time deposits. M2 growth is a long-running indicator of monetary conditions and, with long lags, of inflation pressure.
Also known as: Entitlement Spending
Mandatory spending is federal spending driven by eligibility rules written into permanent law rather than annual appropriations. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and net interest on the debt are the largest categories. Mandatory spending is the majority of federal outlays and grows automatically with beneficiaries and inflation.
Also known as: Nonfarm Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payrolls (NFP) count the number of paid U.S. workers excluding farm employees, private household workers, and non-profit employees. The monthly change in NFP — reported the first Friday of each month alongside the unemployment rate — is the single most market-moving labor-market release.
Nonfarm payrolls count the number of paid U.S. workers excluding farm employees, private household workers, and non-profit employees. The monthly change in NFP — reported the first Friday of each month alongside the unemployment rate — is the single most market-moving labor-market release.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the executive-branch office that prepares the President's annual budget request, oversees agency performance, and reviews federal regulations. Its budget numbers form the administration's baseline; CBO's numbers form Congress's.
The Office of Management and Budget is the executive-branch office that prepares the President's annual budget request, oversees agency performance, and reviews federal regulations. Its budget numbers form the administration's baseline; CBO's numbers form Congress's.
Also known as: PCE Price Index, PCE Inflation
The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index measures price change across all goods and services bought by U.S. households, published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge — the 2% inflation target is defined in terms of PCE, not CPI.
PCE and CPI usually move together but differ in basket weights, substitution assumptions, and scope. PCE tends to run 0.25–0.5 percentage points below CPI over long periods.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index measures price change across all goods and services bought by U.S. households, published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge — the 2% inflation target is defined in terms of PCE, not CPI.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change in the selling prices domestic producers receive for their output. Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PPI is a leading indicator for consumer inflation — cost pressures at the wholesale level often show up later in CPI.
The Producer Price Index measures the average change in the selling prices domestic producers receive for their output. Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PPI is a leading indicator for consumer inflation — cost pressures at the wholesale level often show up later in CPI.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the Federal Reserve's process of shrinking its balance sheet by letting Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities mature without reinvesting the proceeds. It is the reverse of quantitative easing and withdraws liquidity from the financial system, tightening monetary conditions without a direct change in the policy rate.
Quantitative tightening is the Federal Reserve's process of shrinking its balance sheet by letting Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities mature without reinvesting the proceeds. It is the reverse of quantitative easing and withdraws liquidity from the financial system, tightening monetary conditions without a direct change in the policy rate.
The real interest rate is a nominal interest rate adjusted for inflation. When inflation exceeds the nominal rate, the real rate is negative — meaning money in a savings account or short-term Treasury loses purchasing power over time. Real rates, not nominal rates, drive savings and investment decisions.
A nominal value is the raw dollar (or rate) figure. A real value is the nominal value adjusted for inflation. Real GDP, real wages, and real interest rates strip out price changes so a comparison over time reflects actual purchasing power or economic output — not just dollar inflation.
Revenue composition describes the mix of sources that make up total federal receipts — how much comes from individual income tax versus payroll tax, corporate tax, excise, or other sources. The composition shifts with tax law, economic cycles, and demographic trends.
Shelter inflation measures price change in housing costs — rent, owners' equivalent rent, and lodging. Shelter is the single largest component of CPI (roughly a third of the index) and the most-watched sub-index because it moves slowly, drives the core CPI trajectory, and lags actual market rent by 6–12 months.
The Treasury yield is the annual return an investor earns from holding a U.S. Treasury security to maturity. Yields on 2-year, 10-year, and 30-year Treasuries are the benchmark risk-free rates for the U.S. economy and set the floor for mortgage, corporate-bond, and consumer-loan rates.
U-3 is the official unemployment rate — the headline number cited in news reports. It counts people who are jobless, available for work, and have actively looked in the past four weeks, expressed as a share of the civilian labor force.
U-3 Unemployment Rate (U-3) — U-3 is the official unemployment rate — the headline number cited in news reports. It counts people who are jobless, available for work, and have actively looked in the past four weeks, expressed as a share of the civilian labor force.
U-6 is a broader measure of labor-market slack. It includes the U-3 unemployed plus people working part-time because they cannot find full-time work ('part-time for economic reasons') and those marginally attached to the labor force. U-6 runs roughly 3–5 percentage points above U-3.
U-6 Underemployment Rate (U-6) — U-6 is a broader measure of labor-market slack. It includes the U-3 unemployed plus people working part-time because they cannot find full-time work ('part-time for economic reasons') and those marginally attached to the labor force. U-6 runs roughly 3–5 percentage points above U-3.
The unemployment rate is the share of the civilian labor force that is jobless and actively looking for work. Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Employment Situation report, it is the most-cited gauge of labor-market slack and is also known as the U-3 rate.
Full guide: Unemployment Rate — live chart, FAQ, methodology →
The yield curve is a line plotting U.S. Treasury yields from the shortest maturity (1-month bills) to the longest (30-year bonds). Its shape summarizes the market's expectations for future growth, inflation, and Fed policy — a steep curve points to expansion, a flat or inverted curve to potential slowdown.
The yield curve is inverted when short-term Treasury yields exceed long-term yields — typically when the 10-year yield falls below the 2-year. Inversions have preceded every U.S. recession since 1955, though the lead time has varied from several months to more than two years.
We expand this glossary as we add dashboards and series. If a term used anywhere else on the site is missing a definition, open an issue on the project repository and we will add it.