Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Average employee workweek: Current (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 a sample of manufacturing firms surveyd by the FED, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for the average employee workweek (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) stood at -14.4 in January 2026, compared to -5.0 in December 2025.
Sample. There are 295 data points overall in the monthly time series presented in the graph above. The time span covered by the series stretches from July 2001 to January 2026.
History. Here’s a quick look at some summary statistics computed on the full sample: the diffusion index reached its lowest level of -55.5 in April 2020; it recorded its maximum of 29.2 in May 2004; it had an average value of 1.0.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-11-30 | 6.7 |
| 2025-12-31 | -5.0 |
| 2026-01-31 | -14.4 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Did the average employee workweek 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 | 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) |
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