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, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) was 6.2 in October 2025, compared to -1.2 in September.
Sample. There are 292 observations overall in the monthly time series displayed in the chart above. The series covers the time period stretching from July 2001 to October 2025.
History. Have a look at some statistics we calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index averaged 4.0; it recorded its maximum of 23.9 in April 2004; it reached its lowest level of -54.0 in April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-08-31 | 4.4 |
| 2025-09-30 | -1.2 |
| 2025-10-31 | 6.2 |
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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) |