Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Empire State Manufacturing Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to survey data about NY-based manufacturers collected by the Federal Reserve, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) stood at 10.3 in October 2026, compared to 10.6 in September 2026.
Sample. This monthly time series has 304 data points overall. The series covers the time range stretching from July 2001 to October 2026.
History. Take a look at some summary statistics calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index had an average value of 4.1; it reached a trough of -53.7 in April 2020; it reached its highest level of 24.9 in February 2022.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | 9.30000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 10.6000 |
| 2026-10-31 | 10.3000 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Did the number of employees 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 | Yes |
| 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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