ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Economic indicator

An economic indicator is like a kind of thermometer that helps us understand how well the economy is doing.

Just like how a thermometer tells us if we have a fever or not, an economic indicator tells us if the economy is growing and thriving or if it's not doing so well.

There are many different types of economic indicators, like the stock market, jobs reports, consumer spending, and inflation. We use these indicators to help figure out things like how many people are working, how much people are spending, and whether prices are going up or down.

When we look at all of these different indicators together, we can get a pretty good idea of how healthy the economy is overall. It's like when we go to the doctor and they check our temperature, our blood pressure, and ask us about our symptoms. All of those things together help the doctor figure out if we're healthy or if we need help.