Although marketing information companies provide vital demographics for corporate marketing needs, a good deal of this information is made available from agencies of the federal government, which collects such data. By calling the appropriate department in several government agencies, a person can speak directly to an expert who knows and collects this information. Often these experts can direct the caller through the labyrinth of government offices to locate an appropriate source for the precise information being sought.
Mailing lists should be continually updated to ensure accuracy. Inaccurate address labels result in incomplete delivery, lost business, and increased mailing expenses. Companies are faced with the dual task of weeding out bad addresses and updating zip codes to include the additional four digits now used by the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS now offers a one-time Diskette Coding Service which corrects most faulty street and city names and adds the four-digit extension to the existing zip codes. By submitting a computer disk containing the mailing list, the interested user can obtain a one-time clean-up/update. Call the National Customer Support Center of the USPS at (800) 238-3150 for information and computer disk requirements for this service.
The following phone numbers are government hotlines that provide the latest economic statistics on topics ranging from selected interest rates to advance reports of retail trade.
| Topic | Department | Phone |
| News highlights | Federal Reserve Board | (202) 452-3206 |
| News highlights | Department of Commerce | (202) 393-1847 |
| Consumer Price Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics | (202) 606-7828 |
| Employment Cost Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics | (202) 606-7828 |
| Foreign trade | Bureau of the Census | (301) 457-3041 |
| GNP | Bureau of Economic Analysis | (202) 606-5306 |
| Inventories | Bureau of the Census | (900) 555-2329 |
| Leading Economic Indicators | Bureau of Economic Analysis | (202) 606-5361 |
| Mortgage rates | Federal National Mortgage Assn. | (800) 752-7020 |
| Producer Price Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics | (202) 606-7828 |
| Retail trade | Bureau of the Census | (900) 555-2329 |
| Treasury Bills, Notes, bonds, and securities | Department of the Treasury | (202) 874-4000 |
For additional information, contact:
Economic and Demographic Statistics Bureau of the Census U.S. Department of Commerce Data User Service Division Customer Service Washington, DC 20233 (301) 763-4100 Food and Agriculture Statistics National Agriculture Statistics Service Estimates Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture Washington, DC 20250 (202) 720-3896 National, Regional, and International Economics Bureau of Economic Analysis U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC 20230 (202) 606-9900 Employment Prices, Living Conditions Productivity, and Occupational Health and Safety Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor Washington, DC 20212 (202) 606-7828 Import and Export Statistics World Trade Reference Room U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC 20230 (202) 482-2185