• Economic indicators can be stock market triggers.rising graph image by Mats Tooming from Fotolia.com
  
  Economic indicators are economic trends that can trigger both a positive or negative reaction in the stock market. Investors of all types can use these clues to pick the right time to get into the market and the right time to get out. Employment, consumer spending and confidence, and even the housing and construction market's situation can trigger stock market movements.
  
  

Employment

• The stock market's sensitivity to the national employment situation is very high. No single economic indicator can trigger a market response like the unemployment report, because it is timely (it's released the last Friday of every month). The Department of Labor issues other important data, such as jobless claims and household earnings. This information can predict future economic activity. If Americans earn less, they spend less, which will not help the economy. Unemployment is a lagging indicator, which means the employment picture will change after the market follows a particular pattern.
  
  To find the latest employment news, go to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm).
  
  

Consumers' Influence

• Global economist and author Bernarld Baumohl notes that personal spending and income have a direct impact on the stock market. Without consumer spending, business activity would come to a standstill. Consumers are the single greatest force that drives the economy. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis releases data on income, spending and saving, with the report trailing the month it's focused on by four weeks.
  
  To find the latest news, go to the BEA (bea.gov/bea/newsrel/pinewsrelease.htm).
  
  

Housing and the Economy

• Housing data have a moderate effect on the stock market, but the housing market can be a leading indicator that predicts the future of the economy. According to Baumohl, there has never been a U.S. recession when the housing market was booming. In 2008, the housing sector crashed, hard, and the economy followed. Residential real estate is the first to suffer during a recession and the first to start up during a recovery.
  
  For the latest information on housing, go to the U.S. Census Bureau (census.gov/const/www/newresconstindex.html).