Own prediction model for inflation and employment figures

Hi there!

I'm wondering if any of you have tried building your own model to predict the figures from economic reports, such as the employment report or the inflation report, before they are officially published. Is the methodology behind these reports publicly available?

I'm thinking that it should be possible to create one's own prediction based on open source data, such as price lists from Walmart and other retailers or information about open vacancies on job portals. This could then be used to inform a bet on stock indices the day before the official report is published.

I'm interested in hearing from others who have tried something similar.