FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), the free database of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, holds 853,000 data series. They come from 127 sources, from US government agencies to the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. Each one can be charted, changed and downloaded at no cost.
This guide works through three core US series, step by step. They are the Unemployment Rate, the Consumer Price Index and the 10-year Treasury yield. Each step shows a real figure, so you can check that you got the same answer.
What is FRED? FRED, short for Federal Reserve Economic Data, is a free online database run by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It holds 853,000 economic data series from 127 sources, each with its own short code (its ID), chart and download button.
Every series has a short ID. UNRATE is the US Unemployment Rate, which was 4.2% in September 2026.
The "Units" menu turns a price index into an inflation rate. Set to "Percent Change from Year Ago", the Consumer Price Index shows 3.35% for August 2026.
Figures get revised. FRED shows the latest version, while its archive site, ALFRED (Archival FRED), keeps the earlier ones.
What is FRED?
FRED is "created and maintained by the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis", according to its help pages. The same pages say it began in the early 1990s.
FRED does not produce most of the numbers itself. It collects them from the agencies that do, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Fed's Board of Governors. According to its help pages, each new release is checked against the figures FRED already holds before it goes live.
The St. Louis Fed describes FRED as "available freely on the internet".
How to find a series on FRED by its ID
Every FRED series has an ID of a few letters. The fastest route is to type it into the search box at the top of the site. You can also add it to the web address: fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE.
Series ID | What it measures | How often | Units | Seasonally adjusted | Starts | Latest value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UNRATE | Unemployment Rate | Monthly | Percent | Yes | January 1948 | 4.2% (September 2026) |
CPIAUCSL | Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers | Monthly | Index, 1982 to 1984 = 100 | Yes | January 1947 | 334.131 (August 2026) |
DGS10 | 10-year Treasury yield | Daily | Percent | No | 2 January 1962 | 5.31% (5 October 2026) |
Source: FRED (UNRATE, CPIAUCSL, DGS10); YX Insights
The table lists the three series in this guide. The series page shows the title, the latest value, the units and how often the data come out.
The page also shows whether the data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data are smoothed to remove swings that repeat every year. It also gives the source, the date of the last update and the date of the next one.
For UNRATE, the page showed 4.2% for September 2026, updated on 2 October. The next release is due on 6 November 2026. We explain how the rate is measured in What Is the Unemployment Rate?
The same steps work for any series. Gross Domestic Product, for example, is GDP. We explain it in What Is GDP?
The US Unemployment Rate on FRED since 1948
Source: FRED (UNRATE); YX Insights
The chart shows UNRATE every month since January 1948. The highest reading was 14.8%, in April 2020. The lowest was 2.5%, in May and June 1953.
The line has one gap. There is no value for October 2025. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says household survey data "were not collected for the October 2025 reference period due to a lapse in appropriations". That lapse was the US government shutdown.
In a FRED download, that month is a blank cell.
How to change units on FRED: CPI as an inflation rate
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the prices US consumers pay. Its FRED ID is CPIAUCSL. The series is an index, set so that prices in 1982 to 1984 average 100. In August 2026, it stood at 334.131.
An index level says little on its own. The change over a year is the inflation rate. FRED does that sum for you:
Above the graph, click Edit Graph.
Open the EDIT LINE tab.
In the Units menu, choose Percent Change from Year Ago.
The graph updates at once. For August 2026, it shows 3.35%. We explain how the index is built in What Is CPI?
CPI inflation on FRED since 1948
Source: FRED (CPIAUCSL); YX Insights
The chart shows the same series in "Percent Change from Year Ago" units, since January 1948. Inflation on this measure peaked at 14.59% in March 1980. Its high in the recent surge was 8.98%, in June 2022. October 2025 is blank here too.
The official release can differ a little. Its 12-month figure uses prices before seasonal adjustment, which FRED carries as CPIAUCNS. On that series, inflation was 3.40% in August 2026, the 3.4% in the release. The June 2022 peak was 9.06%, reported as 9.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield on FRED since 1962
The 10-year Treasury yield is the return on US government debt that is repaid after ten years. Its FRED ID is DGS10. The Fed's Board of Governors publishes it each business day. We explain its place among other yields in What Is the Yield Curve?
Source: FRED (DGS10); YX Insights
The chart shows the daily yield since 2 January 1962. It peaked at 15.84% on 30 September 1981. It fell to 0.52% on 4 August 2020.
On 5 October 2026, the yield closed at 5.31%. That was its highest since 14 May 2002.
How to change frequency on FRED
DGS10 is a daily series. To turn it into monthly figures:
Click Edit Graph, then the EDIT LINE tab.
In Modify frequency, choose Monthly.
Pick an Aggregation method: Average (the default), Sum or End of period.
The choice matters. For September 2026, the monthly average was 4.99%. The last value of the month was 5.29%.
How to download FRED data as a CSV file
A comma-separated values (CSV) file is a plain spreadsheet file that Excel and Google Sheets can open. To get one, click Download above the graph, then choose CSV. The other choices are Excel, an image of the chart or a PowerPoint slide.
The file has two columns: the date and the value. The column heading is the series ID, such as UNRATE.
Blank cells are normal. The daily DGS10 file has 720 empty days, when no yield was published. 584 of them fall on US federal holidays. The monthly UNRATE and CPIAUCSL files leave October 2025 blank.
Programmers can also pull series through the FRED application programming interface (API). It is a link for computer programs. It needs a key, which you request through a FRED user account.
ALFRED: earlier versions of FRED data
Many figures are revised after they first come out. FRED shows only the latest version. ALFRED keeps the earlier ones, so you can see a series as it stood on a past date.
Nonfarm Payrolls (FRED ID PAYEMS), the count of US jobs outside farming, show why this matters. We explain them in What Are Nonfarm Payrolls? In ALFRED, the jobs report of 4 September 2026 showed 162,000 jobs added in August.
FRED now shows 133,000 for August. The next month's jobs report, on 2 October, revised it down.
What to check before using FRED data
Seasonally adjusted or not. Many series come in both forms. In September 2026, the Unemployment Rate was 4.2% seasonally adjusted. Before adjustment (FRED ID UNRATENSA), it was 4.0%.
Revisions. The latest value can change. Note the date you downloaded the data.
Gaps. Check for blank months before working out changes. October 2025 is missing for the Unemployment Rate and the CPI.
Units and frequency. Read them on the series page. A monthly average and a month-end value can differ, as the 10-year yield shows.
FRED puts 853,000 economic series in one free place, each with an ID, a chart and a download. Find the series by its ID, set the units and frequency you need, then check the adjustment, the gaps and the revisions before you use the numbers.
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Common questions about FRED economic data
Is FRED data free to use?
Yes. FRED is free to search, chart and download. The St. Louis Fed describes it as "available freely on the internet". Programs that pull data through the FRED application programming interface (API) need a key. You request one through a FRED user account. Users must still follow FRED's terms of use, which set out how the data may be used.
What is UNRATE on FRED?
UNRATE is FRED's ID for the US Unemployment Rate, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is monthly, seasonally adjusted and starts in January 1948. The latest reading was 4.2% for September 2026, released on 2 October. October 2025 is missing, because the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not collect the survey during the government shutdown.
How do I get CPI inflation from FRED?
Open the series CPIAUCSL, the Consumer Price Index. Click Edit Graph, open the EDIT LINE tab, then set Units to "Percent Change from Year Ago". FRED then shows the yearly inflation rate: 3.35% for August 2026. For the unadjusted headline figure, use CPIAUCNS, which showed 3.40%.
Who runs FRED?
FRED is run by the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, one of the 12 regional banks of the US Federal Reserve. It began in the early 1990s. It gathers data from 127 sources, according to its home page. They include US government agencies, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.
DISCLAIMER: This article is strictly educational. Any information or analysis in this note is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Nothing in this note is intended to be investment advice and nor should it be relied upon to make investment decisions. Any opinions, analyses, or probabilities expressed in this note are those of the author as of the note's date of publication and are subject to change without notice.