Business Leaders Survey: Business activity: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Business Leaders Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to survey data about service firms in the Second Federal Reserve District, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for business activity (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) was -20.7 in October 2026, compared to -8.7 in September.
Sample. There are 266 observations in the monthly series displayed in the figure above. The series covers the period going from September 2004 to October 2026.
History. Take a look at some descriptive statistics calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index averaged 1.6; it hit a maximum of 43.2 in June 2021; it reached its minimum of -76.5 in April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | 0.500000 |
| 2026-09-30 | -8.70000 |
| 2026-10-31 | -20.7000 |
Heads-up. Our metadata often comprise references to the sources of the data we provide. You can use these references to search for additional information needed in your research.
Not for investment purposes. Time series and other data available on FetchSeries are not supposed to be used for investment purposes or any other financial decision. Users should obtain expert advice and perform their own independent due diligence before taking any financial risk.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: In the past month did business activity at this company increase or decrease? |
| 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 | 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.
Current conditions SA
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Leaders Survey: Wages: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly | 266 | 2004-09-30 | 2026-10-31 |
Future conditions SA
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Leaders Survey: Wages: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly | 266 | 2004-09-30 | 2026-10-31 |