On-line Economic Data not on open access

The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) came into operation in January 2003. "ESDS provides access and support for an extensive range of key economic and social data, both quantitative and qualitative, spanning many disciplines and themes". It comprises a number of specialist data services that aim to promote and encourage data usage in teaching and research. These services include ESDS Government, concerned with the efficient use of government surveys; ESDS International giving access and support to a number of micro and macro data sources; ESDS Longitudinal supporting key UK longitudinal data collections and ESDS Qualidata which focuses on providing access to multimedia qualitative data sources. The website was redesigned in July 2006, new features added include Data Catalogue search and browse, download facilities, step-by-step guides, web advice, events pages, and a list of links.

MIMAS (Manchester Information and Associated Services) is 'a JISC and ESRC-supported national data centre providing the UK higher education, further education and research community with networked access to key data and information resources to support teaching, learning and research across a wide range of disciplines'. MIMAS services are available free of charge to users at UK higher education or further education Institutions. For some services, the institution may need to have signed a site licence and paid a licence fee; however, a number are freely available to all users. Your local MIMAS representative (see http://www.mimas.ac.uk/support/contacts.html) can advise. A wide range of support material is available in the Documentation section including the MIMAS Newsletter, handouts, presentations, reports and various training materials and user guides.

Nomis is a service provided by the Office for National Statistics, ONS, to give you free access to the most detailed and up-to-date UK labour market statistics from official sources. It is possible to view statistics by local authority, ward and parliamentary constituency. The site includes a schedule of release dates for the various datasets that includes: the (unemployment) claimant count, JobCentre Plus vacancies, the Labour Force Survey and VAT registrations. Users can view a labour market profile of an area that includes data on population, employment, unemployment, qualifications, earnings, benefit claimants and businesses. To access some of the data users will need to register. The website also has information on training courses that Nomis organises and background information of the statistics provided.

SourceOECD delivers OECD publications and databases online: 20 thematic collections of OECD monographs and reports, various periodicals, some reference titles, and the OECD statistical databases. Full access is for subscribers only, but bibliographical information, abstracts, and sample copies of articles are available free of charge. If you work or study at a subscribing institution, you can become an authorised user. Full-text articles are available as PDF downloads. The site is available in French or English.

The UK Data Archive (formerly known as the ESRC Data Archive) houses the largest collection of accessible computer-readable data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. It is a lead partner in the ESDS service (Economic and Social Data Service, http://www.esds.ac.uk/). It is a national resource centre, disseminating data throughout the United Kingdom and, by arrangement with other national archives, internationally. The Archive is funded jointly by the University of Essex where it is located, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). Founded in 1967, it houses thousands datasets of interest to researchers in all sectors and from many different disciplines. Before ordering data, users must first complete a simple process of registration (this needs to be done once only). The Data Archive provides a range of tools to help locate resources: primary amongst these is the online catalogue. The site also includes information for first time users of the archive, current news and advice for data creators and for those wanting to deposit data with the archive.

STAT-USA is a key resource and provides economic and business information produced by the federal government. The service gathers information from 50 federal agencies includes over 300,000 reports and statistical series). STAT-USA/Internet data bases include: The National Trade Data Bank (NTDB), The National Economic, Social, and Environmental Data Bank (NESE-DB), The Economic Bulletin Board, The Global Business Opportunities Service, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The information is available through subscription only although there are some "taster" pages available.

Search or browse a collection of over 800 Internet sites of numeric social science statistical data, data catalogues, data libraries, social science gateways and more, maintained by Jim Jacobs, Data Librarian in the Social Sciences Data Centre at the University of San Diego. Cited by many data libraries world wide as the most comprehensive list of links to social science related statistics and data on the Web

Dismal Scientist is a large site containing tools, articles and data for economists. Articles can be accessed from the front page or by categories such as indicators, analysis, data and tools, as well as a personalisation option . Information is also broken down by geographical area, from the global economy down to specific regions. Part of Moody's Economy.com, large parts of this site are only available to subscribers, although some free information is available.

This is the home page of NESSTAR, an integrated suite of software products aimed at facilitating the location and use of socio-economic data. It has been developed at the UK Data Archive in the University of Essex and the Norwegian Social Science Data Services and arose out of the EC-funded NESSTAR and FASTER projects. It is now a commercial concern. The software system enables you to publish data on the web. Its tools let you " Find, browse, visualize and analyse data online, publish different kinds of data, from survey data to multidimensional tables and to create an effective knowledge system for evidence based decision making ". There is extensive documentation available about all the packages and you can download a 60-day free trial.