Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Average employee workweek: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Empire State Manufacturing Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. Based on a sample of manufacturing firms surveyd by the FED, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for the average employee workweek (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was -4.0 in September 2026, compared to 1.0 in August.
Sample. There are 303 observations in the monthly series displayed in the plot above. The series covers the span of time stretching from July 2001 to September 2026.
History. Here's a snapshot of some statistics calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index recorded a maximum of 33.0 in February 2002; it recorded a minimum of -13.8 in February 2009; it had a mean value of 7.2.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 2.00000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 1.00000 |
| 2026-09-30 | -4.00000 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will the average employee workweek increase or decrease over the next six months? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Leading indicator of the business cycle |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | Yes |
| Rescaling | None |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | Percentage points |
| Source | Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
| Source type | Central bank |
| Data licence | Free use subject to conditions |
| Measure type | Diffusion index (share of respondents reporting an increase minus share reporting a decrease) |
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