The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) decreased to –0.10 in May 2026, from an upwardly revised +0.19 in April. Two of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index decreased from April, and three categories made negative contributions in May. Production-related indicators contributed –0.04 in May, down from +0.23 in the prior month, while employment-related indicators contributed –0.04 (down from +0.05). The personal consumption and housing category's contributed –0.04, remaining unchanged from April. Meanwhile, the sales, orders, and inventories category's contributed positively by 0.02 (up from –0.04). source: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Chicago Fed National Activity Index in the United States decreased to -0.10 points in May from 0.19 points in April of 2026. Chicago Fed National Activity Index in the United States averaged 0.00 points from 1967 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 6.31 points in June of 2020 and a record low of -18.30 points in April of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Chicago Fed National Activity Index - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Chicago Fed National Activity Index - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on July of 2026.

Chicago Fed National Activity Index in the United States decreased to -0.10 points in May from 0.19 points in April of 2026. Chicago Fed National Activity Index in the United States is expected to be -0.50 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United States Chicago Fed National Activity Index is projected to trend around 0.40 points in 2027 and 0.10 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-05-26 12:30 PM
Chicago Fed National Activity Index
Apr 0.14 -0.15 -0.3
2026-06-25 12:30 PM
Chicago Fed National Activity Index
May -0.10 0.19 0.12
2026-07-23 12:30 PM
Chicago Fed National Activity Index
Jun -0.10 -0.5



Components Last Previous Unit Reference
CFNAI Employment Index -0.04 0.05 points May 2026
CFNAI Personal Consumption and Housing Index -0.04 -0.04 points May 2026
CFNAI Production Index -0.04 0.23 points May 2026
CFNAI Sales Orders and Inventories Index 0.02 -0.04 points May 2026

Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Building Permits 1410.00 1423.00 Thousand May 2026
ISM Manufacturing PMI 53.30 54.00 points Jun 2026
Business Inventories MoM 0.50 1.00 percent Apr 2026
Chicago Fed National Activity Index -0.10 0.19 points May 2026
Consumer Spending 16687.70 16665.20 USD Billion Mar 2026
Housing Starts 1177.00 1392.00 Thousand units May 2026
Industrial Production YoY 1.70 1.40 percent May 2026
Manufacturing Production YoY 1.40 1.20 percent May 2026
New Orders 657373.00 665895.00 USD Million May 2026
Non Farm Payrolls 57.00 129.00 Thousand Jun 2026
Nonfarm Payrolls Private 49.00 97.00 Thousand Jun 2026
Personal Spending MoM 0.70 0.40 percent May 2026
Retail Sales MoM 0.90 0.40 percent May 2026
Unemployment Rate 4.20 4.30 percent Jun 2026


United States Chicago Fed National Activity Index
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) is designed to gauge overall economic activity and related inflationary pressure. The CFNAI is based on a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity. It has an average value of zero and a standard deviation of one. Since economic activity tends toward trend growth rate over time, a positive reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative reading corresponds to growth below trend.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-0.10 0.19 6.31 -18.30 1967 - 2026 points Monthly
NSA

News Stream
Chicago Fed National Activity Index Falls in May
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) decreased to –0.10 in May 2026, from an upwardly revised +0.19 in April. Two of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index decreased from April, and three categories made negative contributions in May. Production-related indicators contributed –0.04 in May, down from +0.23 in the prior month, while employment-related indicators contributed –0.04 (down from +0.05). The personal consumption and housing category's contributed –0.04, remaining unchanged from April. Meanwhile, the sales, orders, and inventories category's contributed positively by 0.02 (up from –0.04).
2026-06-25
Chicago Fed National Activity Index Rebounds in April
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.14 in April 2026 from a revised –0.15 in March, marking its strongest reading since March 2025. The rebound pointed to improving economic momentum, driven largely by a sharp recovery in production activity. Two of the four broad categories used to construct the index improved from the previous month, while two categories made positive contributions overall in April. Production-related indicators added +0.18 (up from –0.13 in March), and sales, orders, and inventories contributed +0.02 (up from –0.03). Employment-related indicators subtracted –0.02 (down from neutral in March), and personal consumption and housing subtracted –0.04 (also down from neutral).
2026-05-26
US Economic Activity Weakens in March
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) dropped to -0.20 in March 2026, its lowest level since November 2025, down from a revised +0.03 in February. Three of the four key categories declined, with production-related indicators contributing -0.20 (down from +0.13 in February), sales, orders, and inventories subtracting -0.01 (from +0.05), and personal consumption and housing also at -0.01 (from neutral). Only employment-related indicators improved, adding +0.02 compared to -0.15 in February.
2026-04-23