Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: Current (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. According to survey data about NY-based manufacturers collected by the Federal Reserve, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) stood at 10.6 in September 2026, compared to 9.3 in August.
Sample. There are 303 records in the monthly time series presented in the chart above. The time range covered by the series extends from July 2001 to September 2026.
History. Check out some summary statistics we computed on the whole sample: the diffusion index was equal on average to 4.0; it hit a minimum of -53.7 in April 2020; it reached its highest level of 24.9 in February 2022.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 11.4000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 9.30000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 10.6000 |
Tip. A benefit of our data visualization and download service is that we provide well-crafted metadata. Find them below to better understand the properties of the time series that you analyze.
Not for investment purposes. Financial data made available on this web site are not suitable for investment purposes or as a basis for making financial decisions. 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 the number of employees 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 | 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) |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.