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Economics

Survey Response Rates Are Down Since Covid. That's Worrying for US Economic Data

Declining response rates on surveys conducted by government agencies could have significant implications for financial markets.

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Surveys. They’re everywhere: at the end of every customer service call, on the bottom of your drugstore receipt and sometimes even on your way out of the airport restroom.

No harm will likely come from you declining to rate your dining experience or refusing to take part in an opinion poll. Where survey fatigue may pose a real threat is in government statistics that everyone from policymakers at the Federal Reserve to traders on Wall Street to C-suite executives rely on.