Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: Future (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 recent survey data about manufacturing firms in the State of New York, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) stood at 8.8 in December 2025, compared to 11.9 in November 2025.
Sample. There are 294 data points in the monthly time series shown in the plot above. The time period covered by the series extends from July 2001 to December 2025.
History. Take a look at a few descriptive statistics computed on the full sample: the diffusion index averaged 17.9; it reached its lowest level of -22.0 in March 2009; it reached a maximum of 42.8 in July 2021.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-10-31 | 7.5 |
| 2025-11-30 | 11.9 |
| 2025-12-31 | 8.8 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will the number of employees increase or decrease over the next six months? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Leading 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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