Business Outlook Survey

The Business Outlook Survey is a monthly survey of manufacturers in the Third Federal Reserve District. Participants indicate the direction of change in overall business activity and in the various measures of activity at their plants: employment, working hours, new and unfilled orders, shipments, inventories, delivery times, prices paid, and prices received. The survey has been conducted each month since May 1968.

Recent Releases Last update: May 16, 2013, 10:00 a.m. ET

2013

Resources

2012-2013 Release Calendar (Last update: January 8, 2013)
Historical Data Page: Historical monthly data for all of the Business Outlook Survey diffusion indexes and aggregate proportions series (percentage of firms reporting increases, decreases, and no change) are available from May 1968 to the most current release month. The survey's annual historical revisions, which incorporated new seasonal adjustment factors, were released on January 10, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. EST (see press release and details).
What Does the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey Say About Local Activity? Research Rap Special Report, December 2008 (85 KB, 10 pages)
Useful background information about the survey was published in the Business Review: September/October 1998 and Fourth Quarter 2003.
Sample Business Outlook Survey Questionnaire (30 KB)
Survey Archives: PDF versions of the Business Outlook Survey are available for download in ZIP archives.