Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: Future (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. Based on manufacturing firms' responses to the Empire State Survey carried out by the New York FED, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) stood at 12.9 in September 2026, versus 22.7 in August.
Sample. The monthly time series shown in the chart has 303 records. The series covers the time period stretching from July 2001 to September 2026.
History. Here’s a quick look at a few summary statistics we calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index reached its maximum of 44.5 in April 2021; it registered a minimum of -23.6 in March 2009; it had a mean value of 17.9.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 9.00000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 22.7000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 12.9000 |
Suggestion. To make our users' life easier, we organize series into data sets and worksheets. By scrolling down, you will discover how we structured further information related to the statistics found here.
Not for investment purposes. Content made available on FetchSeries is not meant for investment purposes or other financial decisions. Users should seek expert advice and perform their own independent due diligence before pledging money to any investment.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will the number of employees 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 | No |
| 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.