US Empire State Manufacturing Index Falls To 7.6 From 20.6

The United States Empire State Manufacturing Index registered 7.6 in the September 15 release for September, below the supplied consensus estimate of 14.75, as New York manufacturers reported a slower pace of improvement in business conditions. The headline reading fell from 20.6 in August to 7.6 in September, reversing the increase recorded in the August release, which listed a prior reading of 15.6, and leaving the index positive despite the slowdown. Unlike manufacturing purchasing managers’ indexes that use a 50-point dividing line, the Empire State survey measures improvement or deterioration around zero, so September’s positive reading indicates improving general business conditions rather than an outright regional contraction. The general business conditions index captures manufacturers’ overall assessments rather than a weighted combination of component indexes, so the headline alone does not establish whether orders, shipments, employment or another category drove the monthly decline. Earlier releases recorded 19.6 in May and 5.7 in June, placing September below May but above June and illustrating uneven regional manufacturing momentum, although those observations do not establish a twelve-month average or year-earlier comparison. The next Empire State survey and Federal Reserve policy communications provide follow-up information on manufacturing conditions and monetary policy, while this regional reading alone establishes neither current market interest-rate pricing nor a change in the central bank’s stance. Updated 9/15/26