The paper discusses the meaning of economic indicators as of a system of quantitative characteristics describing the functioning and development of an economy. The role and significance of economic indicators both in the system of economic sciences and in economic, political and socio-cultural practices of a society are revealed. The dual nature of economic indicators is exposed. It is shown that, on the one hand, they constitute the information base for making and implementing economic and political decisions by economic actors, thus representing a factor that reduces uncertainty and minimizes risks of their activities. On the other hand, economic indicators may give a distorted picture of the reality and/or be used as means of external pressure on actors aimed at realizing not the actors' interests but rather the interests of those who generated the information. Based on that, it is suggested that the most productive methodological framework for examining and interpreting economic indicators is a rhetorical approach to economics. Examples of applying the most common rhetorical techniques (devices) for using and interpreting economic indicators are given and discussed.