Fifth District Survey of Non-Manufacturing Activity: Average wages: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - Richmond FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Fifth District Survey of Non-Manufacturing Activity (Richmond FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to recent survey data about nonmanufacturing firms in the Fifth District, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for average wages (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) stood at 20.0 in September 2026, compared to 22.0 in August 2026.
Sample. There are 395 records overall in the monthly time series shown in the chart above. The series covers the time range extending from November 1993 to September 2026.
History. Here's a snapshot of a few summary statistics calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index had an average value of 18.9; it registered a minimum of -16.0 in April 2020; it peaked at 45.0 in September 2021.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 20.0000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 22.0000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 20.0000 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Did average wages 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 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) |
| Other information | Not available |
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