Commerce Dept. to Revise Compiling of Economic Data

The government said Wednesday that it will change the way it compiles some data to take into account the changing face of American business. The revisions should result in a rosier picture of the world’s richest economy.

The U.S. economy will grow faster, inflation will be lower and Americans will save more when the Commerce Department on Oct. 28 releases its revisions to the way it compiles its data.

The revisions, undertaken by Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, change the accounting treatment of computer software to an investment instead of a cost and, for the first time, treat government employee pensions in a similar manner as private pension plans.

Those changes, and many other tweaks to the way data are compiled, are aimed at providing a more accurate picture of output, inflation and savings in the American economy.

While the changes will alter gross domestic product, inflation measures and savings, the effect of the changes will be relatively modest, said Brent Moulton of the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The bureau compiles a variety of economic data for the U.S. government. Its biggest reports are on GDP, the broadest measure of economic activity, and on personal income and savings.