Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - Kansas City Fed - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to recent survey data about manufacturing firms in the Tenth Federal Reserve District, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for number of employees was 22.0 (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) in February 2026, compared to 3.0 in January 2026.
Sample. There are 296 observations in the monthly time series displayed in the chart above. The span of time covered by the series stretches from July 2001 to February 2026.
History. Here's a glimpse of a few summary statistics computed on the whole sample: the diffusion index had a mean of 14.9; it reached its highest level of 53.0 in April 2021; it recorded a bottom of -38.0 in February 2009.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 17.0 |
| 2026-01-31 | 3.0 |
| 2026-02-28 | 22.0 |
Heads-up. A plus of using our web site is that we provide accurate metadata. Check it below to learn more about the attributes of the time series that you analyze.
Not for investment purposes. Financial data collected and published on this web site are not suitable for investment purposes or as a basis for financial-decision making. Users should consult expert advice and perform independent analysis before taking any financial risk.
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 |
| Seasonally adjusted | Yes |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Rescaling | None |
| Measure type | Diffusion index (share of respondents reporting an increase minus share reporting a decrease) |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | Percentage points |
| Source | Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City |
| Source type | Central bank |
| Data licence | Reproduction allowed subject to conditions |
| Other information | FS correspondence: Number of employees |
| FSR temporal aggregation code | LM01 |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.