Business Leaders Survey: Business climate: Current (better vs worse than usual for the time of year; 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. Based on a sample of service firms surveyed by the Fed, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for business climate (share of CEOs reporting a better-than-usual business climate minus share reporting a worse-than-usual business climate) was -35.0 in October 2026, versus -35.9 in September 2026.
Sample. In the monthly series plotted above, there are 266 observations. The series covers the span of time extending from September 2004 to October 2026.
History. Have a look at some simple statistics calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index hit a minimum of -94.3 in April 2020; it attained a maximum of 23.2 in September 2018; it averaged -23.3.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | -25.7000 |
| 2026-09-30 | -35.9000 |
| 2026-10-31 | -35.0000 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: How would you rate the current business climate for this time of year? |
| 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 a better-than-usual business climate minus share reporting a worse-than-usual business climate) |
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 |