The New York Fed’s Services Business Activity Index climbed 8.2 points to -5.8 in May 2026, marking its highest reading since January 2025. While activity in the region’s service sector continued to contract, the decline eased significantly, according to respondents to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Business Leaders Survey. The business climate index also improved modestly but remained deeply negative at -46.9, indicating that firms still viewed conditions as substantially worse than normal. Employment edged slightly higher during the month, while wage growth slowed noticeably. At the same time, supply availability continued to deteriorate. Inflationary pressures remained persistent, with firms reporting steep increases in input costs and still-elevated selling prices. Looking ahead, businesses expressed somewhat greater optimism about conditions over the next six months. source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

NY Fed Services Activity Index in the United States increased to -5.80 points in May from -14 points in April of 2026. NY Fed Services Activity Index in the United States averaged 1.74 points from 2004 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 43.20 points in June of 2021 and a record low of -76.50 points in April of 2020. United States NY Fed Services Activity Index - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on May of 2026.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-04-16 12:30 PM
NY Fed Services Activity Index
Apr -14 -22.6
2026-05-18 12:30 PM
NY Fed Services Activity Index
May -5.8 -14
2026-06-16 12:30 PM
NY Fed Services Activity Index
Jun -5.8


United States NY Fed Services Activity Index
The Business Leaders Survey is a monthly survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that asks companies across its District - which includes New York State, Northern New Jersey, and Fairfield County, Connecticut - about recent and expected trends in key business indicators. This survey is designed to parallel the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, though it covers a wider geography and the questions are slightly different. Participants from the service sector respond to a questionnaire and report on a variety of indicators, both in terms of recent and expected changes. While January 2014 is the first published report, survey responses date back to September of 2004 and all historical data are available on our website. The survey is sent on the first business day of each month to the same pool of about 150 business executives, usually the president or CEO, in the region's service sector. In a typical month, about 100 responses are received by around the tenth of the month when the survey closes.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-5.80 -14.00 43.20 -76.50 2004 - 2026 points Monthly
NSA

News Stream
NY Fed Services Index Signals Slower Contraction in May
The New York Fed’s Services Business Activity Index climbed 8.2 points to -5.8 in May 2026, marking its highest reading since January 2025. While activity in the region’s service sector continued to contract, the decline eased significantly, according to respondents to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Business Leaders Survey. The business climate index also improved modestly but remained deeply negative at -46.9, indicating that firms still viewed conditions as substantially worse than normal. Employment edged slightly higher during the month, while wage growth slowed noticeably. At the same time, supply availability continued to deteriorate. Inflationary pressures remained persistent, with firms reporting steep increases in input costs and still-elevated selling prices. Looking ahead, businesses expressed somewhat greater optimism about conditions over the next six months.
2026-05-18
NY Services Activity Contraction Eases in April
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general business activity index, which tracks economic activity in New York State as well as parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, rose nine points to -14 in April 2026. Twenty-four percent of respondents reported that conditions improved over the month while 38 percent said that conditions worsened. The business climate index ticked down three points to -49.3, suggesting the business climate remained much worse than normal. Employment edged slightly lower and supply availability worsened significantly. The pace of input price increases accelerated sharply, while selling price increases picked up modestly. Looking ahead, firms expect little improvement in the next six months.
2026-04-16
NY Fed Services Index Reflects Further Deterioration
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general business activity index, which tracks economic activity in New York State as well as parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, inched up to -22.6 in March of 2026 from the five-year low of -25.7 in the previous month. Despite the slight improvement in the rate of deterioration, the reading still reflected one of the sharpest declines in activity since the US economy started to recover from the Covid shock 5 years prior. The business climate index dropped by 4.5 points from the earlier month to -46.2 and the prices charged dropped by 1.1 points 28.8. In turn, the index measuring employment improved by 1.2 points to -8.5. Looking ahead, the business activity expectations index dropped by 4.8 points to 12.7.
2026-03-17