Federal Reserve Economic Data

Table Data - Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions: Nonlabor Costs Index in Federal Reserve District 7: Chicago

Title Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions: Nonlabor Costs Index in Federal Reserve District 7: Chicago
Series ID CFSBCNONLABORCOSTS
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 2024-12-01
Last Updated 2024-12-23 9:04 AM CST
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 5.7142858505249020
2013-03-01 -3.1764564514160156
2013-04-01 -15.5045862197875980
2013-05-01 -29.9999980926513670
2013-06-01 -27.2113933563232420
2013-07-01 -28.9377365112304700
2013-08-01 -35.2941169738769500
2013-09-01 -36.1643066406250000
2013-10-01 -33.2640495300293000
2013-11-01 -26.3999996185302730
2013-12-01 -10.5801239013671880
2014-01-01 -5.0897922515869140
2014-02-01 -11.1801242828369140
2014-03-01 -27.6725387573242200
2014-04-01 -20.7110824584960940
2014-05-01 12.0603008270263670
2014-06-01 8.0587053298950200
2014-07-01 5.5860891342163090
2014-08-01 4.4776120185852050
2014-09-01 -2.6659073829650880
2014-10-01 -6.9479045867919920
2014-11-01 -8.6538457870483400
2014-12-01 -3.0100333690643310
2015-01-01 0.4025764763355255
2015-02-01 1.2345678806304932
2015-03-01 -7.7863602638244630
2015-04-01 -11.9856595993042000
2015-05-01 -10.0746269226074220
2015-06-01 -13.1473464965820310
2015-07-01 -18.1793403625488280
2015-08-01 -25.5060729980468750
2015-09-01 -33.0731887817382800
2015-10-01 -31.9602375030517580
2015-11-01 -22.0930233001709000
2015-12-01 -15.8651084899902340
2016-01-01 -19.5279159545898440
2016-02-01 -33.9622650146484400
2016-03-01 -17.2386760711669920
2016-04-01 -11.1516437530517580
2016-05-01 -17.4311923980712900
2016-06-01 -12.7441263198852540
2016-07-01 -10.5538301467895500
2016-08-01 -10.7142858505249020
2016-09-01 -5.5290966033935550
2016-10-01 2.1207025051116943
2016-11-01 12.7450981140136720
2016-12-01 18.7332363128662100
2017-01-01 19.2525348663330080
2017-02-01 13.7254905700683600
2017-03-01 1.0949835777282715
2017-04-01 -8.5336875915527340
2017-05-01 -13.3561639785766600
2017-06-01 -5.0429372787475590
2017-07-01 -1.0460036993026733
2017-08-01 -1.0989011526107788
2017-09-01 -1.1043665409088135
2017-10-01 -2.2282426357269287
2017-11-01 -4.5454545021057130
2017-12-01 10.5138349533081050
2018-01-01 17.4272460937500000
2018-02-01 15.1162786483764650
2018-03-01 13.2890367507934570
2018-04-01 14.6567726135253900
2018-05-01 19.4805202484130860
2018-06-01 15.1773948669433600
2018-07-01 23.4604511260986330
2018-08-01 44.8818893432617200
2018-09-01 27.8686008453369140
2018-10-01 22.5842247009277340
2018-11-01 28.6764717102050780
2018-12-01 16.1098594665527340
2019-01-01 5.9816117286682130
2019-02-01 -1.0989011526107788
2019-03-01 1.0412228107452393
2019-04-01 -1.5793690681457520
2019-05-01 -9.2664089202880860
2019-06-01 -8.5715274810791020
2019-07-01 -7.0606999397277830
2019-08-01 -4.6332044601440430
2019-09-01 -15.3478260040283200
2019-10-01 -25.6947059631347660
2019-11-01 -36.3636360168457000
2019-12-01 -35.8480834960937500
2020-01-01 -34.2490386962890600
2020-02-01 -31.5126037597656250
2020-03-01 -47.4063415527343750
2020-04-01 -77.7372207641601600
2020-05-01 -67.2460021972656200
2020-06-01 -55.3892440795898440
2020-07-01 -52.8242187500000000
2020-08-01 -54.9681701660156250
2020-09-01 -47.0918960571289060
2020-10-01 -44.5955886840820300
2020-11-01 -38.9252014160156250
2020-12-01 -31.6775321960449220
2021-01-01 -25.1522274017334000
2021-02-01 -8.6955270767211910
2021-03-01 -3.1228659152984620
2021-04-01 2.8366208076477050
2021-05-01 5.2008519172668460
2021-06-01 15.0537643432617190
2021-07-01 16.6146373748779300
2021-08-01 15.8900833129882810
2021-09-01 14.5322885513305660
2021-10-01 17.7246532440185550
2021-11-01 22.7521781921386720
2021-12-01 16.4880332946777340
2022-01-01 21.5891666412353500
2022-02-01 24.4676723480224600
2022-03-01 33.9520225524902340
2022-04-01 33.6716423034668000
2022-05-01 28.9771690368652340
2022-06-01 40.0070114135742200
2022-07-01 29.1347503662109380
2022-08-01 13.3049659729003900
2022-09-01 6.7874917984008790
2022-10-01 -0.3439697027206421
2022-11-01 -6.1741952896118160
2022-12-01 0.0000000000000000
2023-01-01 8.9552240371704100
2023-02-01 -1.0600706338882446
2023-03-01 -10.6382980346679690
2023-04-01 -6.4516129493713380
2023-05-01 -6.4056940078735350
2023-06-01 -7.4733099937438965
2023-07-01 -27.1739139556884770
2023-08-01 -25.9927787780761720
2023-09-01 -19.0140857696533200
2023-10-01 1.0989011526107788
2023-11-01 -15.1750974655151370
2023-12-01 -23.2653064727783200
2024-01-01 -12.9411764144897460
2024-02-01 -8.2677164077758790
2024-03-01 -16.7381973266601560
2024-04-01 -9.9526062011718750
2024-05-01 -30.5555553436279300
2024-06-01 -27.2727279663085940
2024-07-01 -25.4032268524169920
2024-08-01 -40.2439041137695300
2024-09-01 -35.2226715087890600
2024-10-01 -45.0643806457519500
2024-11-01 -33.6322860717773440
2024-12-01 -27.7777786254882800

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