Table Data - Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions: Hiring Expectations in the next 12 Months in Federal Reserve District 7: Chicago

Title Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions: Hiring Expectations in the next 12 Months in Federal Reserve District 7: Chicago
Series ID CFSBCHIRINGEXP
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 2026-10-01
Last Updated 2026-10-22 9:05 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 -26.82926750183105500
2013-03-01 -20.19643783569336000
2013-04-01 -16.28101158142090000
2013-05-01 -16.03053474426269500
2013-06-01 -26.19353103637695300
2013-07-01 -24.56273078918457000
2013-08-01 -11.02941226959228500
2013-09-01 -0.66649085280000000
2013-10-01 -0.49043589830000000
2013-11-01 -10.48951053619384800
2013-12-01 3.42323970794677730
2014-01-01 8.91119670867920000
2014-02-01 4.91803264617919900
2014-03-01 -0.08328220993280411
2014-04-01 3.27731108665466300
2014-05-01 15.71428585052490200
2014-06-01 8.04019355773925800
2014-07-01 8.45329570770263700
2014-08-01 16.98113250732422000
2014-09-01 23.46407699584961000
2014-10-01 29.00140380859375000
2014-11-01 33.96226501464844000
2014-12-01 27.89396286010742200
2015-01-01 21.68372344970000000
2015-02-01 15.53784942630000000
2015-03-01 8.54268932340000000
2015-04-01 6.62742567062377900
2015-05-01 10.79136753082275400
2015-06-01 8.23893833160400400
2015-07-01 1.70998036861419680
2015-08-01 -9.23076915740966800
2015-09-01 -14.94943809510000000
2015-10-01 -14.12139892580000000
2015-11-01 -6.69145011901855500
2015-12-01 -2.32746100430000000
2016-01-01 0.29114907980000000
2016-02-01 0.89285713430000000
2016-03-01 5.20510101320000000
2016-04-01 0.98641234640000000
2016-05-01 -12.20930290220000000
2016-06-01 -15.58644294740000000
2016-07-01 -13.73842811580000000
2016-08-01 -6.54205608370000000
2016-09-01 1.80517363550000000
2016-10-01 2.06319236760000000
2016-11-01 -5.75079870223999000
2016-12-01 0.52426630260000000
2017-01-01 5.98200893400000000
2017-02-01 10.34482765200000000
2017-03-01 12.99929142000000000
2017-04-01 11.31676292420000000
2017-05-01 4.91803312300000000
2017-06-01 -4.34258508680000000
2017-07-01 -6.63764190670000000
2017-08-01 -2.12014126780000000
2017-09-01 -0.69135040040000000
2017-10-01 -0.70888465640000000
2017-11-01 -2.17391300200000000
2017-12-01 6.71668243410000000
2018-01-01 15.38739681243896500
2018-02-01 23.50746154785156200
2018-03-01 20.52677726750000000
2018-04-01 17.11333465580000000
2018-05-01 13.69294548034668000
2018-06-01 5.97950220108032200
2018-07-01 5.52966117860000000
2018-08-01 12.31343269350000000
2018-09-01 1.93098270890000000
2018-10-01 -4.12941169740000000
2018-11-01 -6.27177715301513700
2018-12-01 -11.83537769320000000
2019-01-01 -11.33911609650000000
2019-02-01 -4.18118476867675800
2019-03-01 -11.49825859070000000
2019-04-01 -10.45296192170000000
2019-05-01 0.00000000000000000
2019-06-01 0.71948009730000000
2019-07-01 -5.96647548680000000
2019-08-01 -20.50359725952148400
2019-09-01 -19.54507446289062500
2019-10-01 -10.46477317810000000
2019-11-01 7.34265708920000000
2019-12-01 15.40703010560000000
2020-01-01 16.76147651670000000
2020-02-01 10.67193603520000000
2020-03-01 -48.91304397583008000
2020-04-01 -34.80134963989258000
2020-05-01 -16.00931358337402300
2020-06-01 -12.20138740540000000
2020-07-01 -13.71324920650000000
2020-08-01 -13.78648281100000000
2020-09-01 -5.93522071840000000
2020-10-01 4.57101869580000000
2020-11-01 9.21566390990000000
2020-12-01 15.52728843688964800
2021-01-01 16.81779289245605500
2021-02-01 15.71592712402343800
2021-03-01 25.27122116088867200
2021-04-01 32.23400497440000000
2021-05-01 37.47216033940000000
2021-06-01 36.77419281010000000
2021-07-01 33.31938934330000000
2021-08-01 35.86920547490000000
2021-09-01 27.70026016240000000
2021-10-01 15.29375171661377000
2021-11-01 17.13658332820000000
2021-12-01 14.91841697690000000
2022-01-01 12.76493453980000000
2022-02-01 18.58871269230000000
2022-03-01 16.45701408390000000
2022-04-01 17.49132728580000000
2022-05-01 12.84790706630000000
2022-06-01 1.77352583410000000
2022-07-01 -2.83033132550000000
2022-08-01 -7.57823228840000000
2022-09-01 -2.51881885530000000
2022-10-01 -6.55207729340000000
2022-11-01 -16.96871185300000000
2022-12-01 -4.12371110920000000
2023-01-01 -9.52380943300000000
2023-02-01 -4.54545450210000000
2023-03-01 -22.22222137450000000
2023-04-01 -24.19354820250000000
2023-05-01 -12.62135887150000000
2023-06-01 -28.39116859436035000
2023-07-01 -23.58490562440000000
2023-08-01 -25.15527915950000000
2023-09-01 -22.08588981628418000
2023-10-01 -25.91361999510000000
2023-11-01 -30.74204826350000000
2023-12-01 -2.23880600930000000
2024-01-01 -10.52631568910000000
2024-02-01 1.02040815353393550
2024-03-01 -11.78571414950000000
2024-04-01 -2.25563907620000000
2024-05-01 -32.18390655520000000
2024-06-01 -33.58208847045898400
2024-07-01 -11.82795715330000000
2024-08-01 -20.28469848632812500
2024-09-01 -12.37113380430000000
2024-10-01 -8.60215091710000000
2024-11-01 -16.85393333440000000
2024-12-01 -1.13207542900000000
2025-01-01 -3.38345885280000000
2025-02-01 -18.21428489690000000
2025-03-01 -21.81818199160000000
2025-04-01 -17.64705848690000000
2025-05-01 -14.94252872470000000
2025-06-01 -16.60079002380000000
2025-07-01 -14.28571414950000000
2025-08-01 6.04838705060000000
2025-09-01 -34.66135406490000000
2025-10-01 -40.00000000000000000
2025-11-01 -33.07984924320000000
2025-12-01 -26.08695602420000000
2026-01-01 -27.71084403990000000
2026-02-01 -12.34567928310000000
2026-03-01 -19.92187500000000000
2026-04-01 -10.79999923710000000
2026-05-01 -11.95219135280000000
2026-06-01 -8.86075973510000000
2026-07-01 -17.64705848690000000
2026-08-01 -22.66666603090000000
2026-09-01 -6.46551704410000000
2026-10-01 -5.26315784450000000

Back to Top