Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Number of employees: Future (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 future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 25.5 in March 2026, compared to 30.3 in the previous month.
Sample. This monthly series has a total of 297 observations. The time span covered by the series stretches from July 2001 to March 2026.
History. Here's a snapshot of a few summary statistics we computed on the whole sample: the diffusion index had an average value of 17.9; it attained a maximum of 44.5 in April 2021; it recorded a minimum of -23.6 in March 2009.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 19.6 |
| 2026-02-28 | 30.3 |
| 2026-03-31 | 25.5 |
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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 | 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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