Table Data - Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions: Nonmanufacturing Activity Index in Federal Reserve District 7: Chicago

Title Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions: Nonmanufacturing Activity Index in Federal Reserve District 7: Chicago
Series ID CFSBCACTIVITYNMFG
Source Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Release Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions
Seasonal Adjustment Not Seasonally Adjusted
Frequency Monthly
Units Index
Date Range 2013-02-01 to 2026-05-01
Last Updated 2026-05-25 9:04 AM CDT
Notes What is the Survey of Economic Conditions?
Contacts located in the Seventh Federal Reserve District are asked to rate various aspects of economic conditions along a seven-point scale ranging from "large increase" to "large decrease." A series of diffusion indexes summarizing the distribution of responses is then calculated.

How are the indexes constructed?
Respondents' answers on the seven-point scale are assigned a numeric value ranging from +3 to –3. Each diffusion index is calculated as the difference between the number of respondents with answers above their respective average responses and the number of respondents with answers below their respective average responses, divided by the total number of respondents. The index is then multiplied by 100 so that it ranges from +100 to −100 and will be +100 if every respondent provides an above-average answer and –100 if every respondent provides a below-average answer. Respondents with no prior history of responses are excluded from the calculation.

What do the numbers mean?
Respondents' respective average answers to a question can be interpreted as representing their historical trends, or long-run averages. Thus, zero index values indicate, on balance, average growth (or a neutral outlook) for activity, hiring, capital spending, and cost pressures. Positive index values indicate above-average growth (or an optimistic outlook) on balance, and negative values indicate below-average growth (or a pessimistic outlook) on balance.

Beginning with the May 12, 2020 release, the CFSEC moved to a monthly release schedule. This release, with data for April 2020, now contains estimated monthly historical values for the CFSEC indexes, as will all future releases. For additional information on how the survey and indexes changed, see the CFSEC FAQs available here.

Prior to April 2022, the Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions was named the Chicago Fed Survey of Business Conditions (CFSBC). The name change was made to better represent the survey’s aim and base of respondents. The goal of the survey is to assess the state of the economy in the Seventh Federal Reserve District. Moreover, since the beginning of the survey, it was been filled out by both business and nonbusiness contacts.
DATE VALUE
2013-02-01 19.0476188659667970
2013-03-01 3.8472278118133545
2013-04-01 -8.2258062362670900
2013-05-01 -15.0000000000000000
2013-06-01 17.2214679718017580
2013-07-01 33.4549255371093750
2013-08-01 34.7826080322265600
2013-09-01 -2.6977007389068604
2013-10-01 -19.7943305969238280
2013-11-01 -17.6470584869384770
2013-12-01 -0.9893659353256226
2014-01-01 -3.9964039325714110
2014-02-01 -28.5714282989501950
2014-03-01 -6.6826376914978030
2014-04-01 19.8126983642578120
2014-05-01 47.7876091003418000
2014-06-01 50.8831214904785160
2014-07-01 58.6616592407226560
2014-08-01 71.6417922973632800
2014-09-01 57.3143234252929700
2014-10-01 44.9858894348144500
2014-11-01 33.8345870971679700
2014-12-01 32.6779441833496100
2015-01-01 29.0276622772216800
2015-02-01 22.7586212158203120
2015-03-01 13.2997856140136720
2015-04-01 21.1168155670166000
2015-05-01 47.5609741210937500
2015-06-01 25.6812858581542970
2015-07-01 18.1706314086914060
2015-08-01 24.5283012390136720
2015-09-01 20.7941761016845700
2015-10-01 17.3724765777587900
2015-11-01 14.0350875854492190
2015-12-01 17.3702049255371100
2016-01-01 11.4869480133056640
2016-02-01 -4.3478260040283200
2016-03-01 12.0055074691772460
2016-04-01 15.9794750213623050
2016-05-01 5.8823528289794920
2016-06-01 8.0446405410766600
2016-07-01 4.0669856071472170
2016-08-01 -6.3157896995544430
2016-09-01 11.9206142425537110
2016-10-01 12.9449138641357420
2016-11-01 -3.1746032238006590
2016-12-01 -5.2232031822204590
2017-01-01 -1.7479319572448730
2017-02-01 7.6923074722290040
2017-03-01 10.7517480850219730
2017-04-01 9.3804540634155270
2017-05-01 3.1413612365722656
2017-06-01 10.4521551132202150
2017-07-01 7.7411417961120605
2017-08-01 -5.1724138259887695
2017-09-01 4.2948203086853030
2017-10-01 7.8627481460571290
2017-11-01 5.7692308425903320
2017-12-01 16.0655288696289060
2018-01-01 23.4749755859375000
2018-02-01 27.4390239715576170
2018-03-01 30.1917304992675780
2018-04-01 32.3565940856933600
2018-05-01 33.5403709411621100
2018-06-01 22.1069068908691400
2018-07-01 20.6368713378906250
2018-08-01 29.0322589874267580
2018-09-01 12.4845619201660160
2018-10-01 5.0770177841186520
2018-11-01 6.3157896995544430
2018-12-01 16.1719512939453120
2019-01-01 18.1425209045410160
2019-02-01 11.3513507843017580
2019-03-01 8.2555284500122070
2019-04-01 5.4354352951049805
2019-05-01 3.3333332538604736
2019-06-01 -2.2826087474823000
2019-07-01 -2.2451274394989014
2019-08-01 3.4482758045196533
2019-09-01 12.5466918945312500
2019-10-01 14.7197637557983400
2019-11-01 10.1123600006103520
2019-12-01 13.4098682403564450
2020-01-01 19.2697753906250000
2020-02-01 27.7456645965576170
2020-03-01 -20.3432083129882800
2020-04-01 -51.7699089050293000
2020-05-01 -51.8095588684082000
2020-06-01 -28.3355655670166000
2020-07-01 -6.1315855979919430
2020-08-01 -2.6724255084991455
2020-09-01 3.1380753517150880
2020-10-01 -3.1883828639984130
2020-11-01 -9.9082937240600590
2020-12-01 -25.3076305389404300
2021-01-01 -25.8473415374755860
2021-02-01 -3.0372645854949950
2021-03-01 10.6140813827514650
2021-04-01 27.4687824249267580
2021-05-01 38.8289070129394500
2021-06-01 46.1154823303222660
2021-07-01 33.9734230041503900
2021-08-01 13.3546876907348630
2021-09-01 16.3837795257568360
2021-10-01 28.2829990386962900
2021-11-01 11.8602733612060550
2021-12-01 -3.5491945743560790
2022-01-01 -0.8797655105590820
2022-02-01 15.9818439483642580
2022-03-01 31.3023090362548830
2022-04-01 6.5123395919799805
2022-05-01 -6.8947181701660160
2022-06-01 -8.6190471649169920
2022-07-01 -29.2052383422851560
2022-08-01 -23.4111366271972660
2022-09-01 -18.7980422973632800
2022-10-01 -20.9909915924072270
2022-11-01 -21.1073036193847660
2022-12-01 -29.0322570800781250
2023-01-01 -23.0769233703613280
2023-02-01 -9.9447517395019530
2023-03-01 -8.8235292434692380
2023-04-01 -23.2142848968505860
2023-05-01 -21.3017749786376950
2023-06-01 -45.0867042541503900
2023-07-01 -10.9090909957885740
2023-08-01 -11.1111106872558600
2023-09-01 -21.0191097259521500
2023-10-01 -27.8145694732666000
2023-11-01 -34.6938781738281250
2023-12-01 -18.6206893920898440
2024-01-01 8.0536909103393550
2024-02-01 -13.9072847366333000
2024-03-01 2.0979020595550537
2024-04-01 8.8235292434692380
2024-05-01 -2.3809523582458496
2024-06-01 -2.3622047901153564
2024-07-01 2.1739130020141600
2024-08-01 -4.1666665077209470
2024-09-01 -15.4838705062866210
2024-10-01 -16.4383563995361330
2024-11-01 4.2857141494750980
2024-12-01 17.7777786254882800
2025-01-01 -8.9552240371704100
2025-02-01 -4.1095890998840330
2025-03-01 -12.2448978424072270
2025-04-01 -16.1073818206787100
2025-05-01 19.1489353179931640
2025-06-01 -6.5693430900573730
2025-07-01 -34.0909080505371100
2025-08-01 -4.6511626243591310
2025-09-01 -13.9534883499145500
2025-10-01 15.3284664154052730
2025-11-01 -14.7887325286865230
2025-12-01 -13.6363639831542970
2026-01-01 0.0000000000000000
2026-02-01 9.5999994277954100
2026-03-01 11.0294122695922850
2026-04-01 15.7894744873046880
2026-05-01 -4.5977010726928710

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