Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey: General business activity: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - Philly FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey (Philly FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. Based on firms' responses to the Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey carried out by the Philadelphia FED, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for general business activity (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) was 37.9 in July 2026, compared to 4.2 in June 2026.
Sample. There are 699 records in the monthly series displayed in the plot above. The series covers the period going from May 1968 to July 2026.
History. Here's a snapshot of some simple statistics computed on the entire sample: the diffusion index had an average value of 8.9; it hit a peak of 67.0 in March 1973; it reached a minimum of -76.0 in December 1974.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-31 | 0.0 |
| 2026-06-30 | 4.2 |
| 2026-07-31 | 37.9 |
Hint. Our metadata often contain references to the original sources of the data series we publish. You can use these references to search for additional information needed in your analyses.
Not for investment purposes. Any financial data available on this web site are not meant for investment purposes or as a basis for making financial decisions. Users should consult professional advice and do independent analysis before taking any financial risk.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Did general business activity 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 Philadelphia |
| 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.