Data and Research
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, February 2026
Community contacts report that rising costs for food, housing, and energy have strained low- and moderate-income communities and nonprofits, while rural hospitals face financial risks. Stable employment for some helped ease economic anxiety, contacts noted. But vulnerable groups and small businesses remained stressed under increasing costs, according to observations for the February 2026 Beige Book.
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Key insights from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey
The 2025 Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS) shares insights from more than 6,500 small employer firms across the US about their business performance, challenges, and credit experiences.
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Why don’t more out-of-work people receive unemployment insurance?
Unemployment insurance can help people transition in their careers and quickly re-enter the workforce. Yet many people who lose their jobs don’t receive this benefit. Recent Federal Reserve research sheds light on the barriers limiting UI access and recipiency.
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2026 Federal Reserve Community Development Research Seminar Series: Place-Based Strategies: Strengthening Local Economies
Get details about the 2023 Federal Reserve Community Development Research Seminar Series, Keys to Opportunity in the Housing Marketing.
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The financial frontier: Small business resilience in banking deserts
For small businesses in banking deserts, navigating capital access can feel like charting unfamiliar territory.
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![[Watch] How Fed Data Tools Can Inform Economic Mobility](https://fedcommunities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/connecting-communities-ome-bc-data-tools.jpg?w=1024)
[Watch] How Fed Data Tools Can Inform Economic Mobility
Federal Reserve staff, along with panelists from organizations that leverage data resources to serve their communities, discuss skills-based hiring, navigating benefits cliffs, and fostering partnerships with employers. Watch or listen on demand.
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Small business strategies for supporting employee child care needs
Small businesses employ nearly half of private-sector workers but often have limited resources to offer benefits like child care. This article examines the prevalence of employer-supported child care and the practical strategies small businesses employ to support working parents.
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, January 2026
Demand for social services is growing while rising costs continue to strain household, small business, and service provider budgets, according to January 2026 Beige Book observations.
