Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Number of employees: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - Richmond FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity (Richmond FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to survey data about manufacturers collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for the number of employees (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 16.0 in August 2026, compared to 12.0 in July 2026.
Sample. There are 396 observations overall in the monthly time series presented in the graph above. The time range covered by the series extends from January 1993 to August 2026.
History. Here's a snapshot of a few statistics we calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index had a mean of 10.6; it recorded a bottom of -21.0 in February 2009; it hit a maximum of 52.0 in July 2021.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | 14.0 |
| 2026-07-31 | 12.0 |
| 2026-08-31 | 16.0 |
Tip. For our users' convenience, we organize indicators into data sets and worksheets. If you look below, you will discover how we arranged further information linked to the statistics published here.
Not for investment purposes. Content hosted on this web site is not not supposed to be used for investment purposes or as a basis for financial-decision making. Users should seek professional advice and perform independent analysis before making any financial commitments.
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 Richmond |
| Source type | Central bank |
| Data licence | Not copyrightable under U.S. law |
| Measure type | Diffusion index (share of respondents reporting an increase minus share reporting a decrease) |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.