Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: 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. According to survey data about NY-based manufacturers, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) stood at 6.9 in March 2026, compared to 3.0 in the previous month.
Sample. There are 297 observations overall in the monthly time series presented in the figure above. The period covered by the series stretches from July 2001 to March 2026.
History. Here are some summary statistics calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index reached a minimum of -48.4 in April 2020; it hit a maximum of 30.8 in May 2004; it had a mean of 4.0.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | -9.3 |
| 2026-02-28 | 3.0 |
| 2026-03-31 | 6.9 |
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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 | 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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