Empire State Manufacturing Survey: General business activity: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Empire State Manufacturing Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to recent survey data about manufacturing firms in the State of New York, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for general business activity (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) was -2.0 in September 2025, versus 2.8 in August.
Sample. There are 291 observations in the montly series shown in the plot above. The time range covered by the series stretches from July 2001 to September 2025.
History. Here's a snapshot of a few summary statistics calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index was equal on average to 6.2; it registered a minimum of -73.5 in April 2020; it hit a peak of 45.8 in April 2004.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 2.8 |
| 2025-08-31 | 2.8 |
| 2025-09-30 | -2.0 |
Tip. One of the advantages of our web site is that we give you well-crafted metadata. Find it below to delve deeper into the attributes of the indicators that you use in your research.
Not for investment purposes. Data published on this web site are not intended for investment purposes or any other financial decision. Users should seek professional advice and perform independent analysis before pledging money to any investment.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Did general business activity increase or decrease in the past month? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Coincident indicator of the business cycle |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | No |
| Rescaling | None |
| Frequency | Montly |
| 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) |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.