Payroll Employment Diffusion Index
The BLS payroll diffusion index measures how widely employment changes are spread across roughly 250 private industries. Each industry receives 100 for rising employment, 50 for no change and 0 for falling employment; the average is the index. A reading of 50 means increases and decreases are equally broad.
3-month diffusion index
Next release: Nov 6, 2026
Latest reading
As of September 2026, Payroll Breadth (3-month diffusion index) stands at 57.0 — up from 55.4 the prior reading, 34% below the April 2022 record of 86.0. Above 50 means more industries are adding jobs than cutting them; below 50 means contraction is broader. The three-month span filters monthly survey noise and is the Jobs Tracker input, while the one-month line is the faster but noisier turn signal. Breadth matters because total payrolls can look healthy while gains are concentrated in only healthcare or government. Series history runs from 1991 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessBLS Current Employment Statistics (CES0500000021 and CES0500000022), monthly, seasonally adjusted · Monthly, with every releaseData as of 2026-09-01 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Payroll Breadth is sourced from BLS directly from the publisher’s own dataset (BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES0500000021 and CES0500000022), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date. Latest observation 2026-09-01; site refreshed 2026-10-08. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Payroll Employment Diffusion Index?
The BLS payroll diffusion index measures how widely employment changes are spread across roughly 250 private industries. Each industry receives 100 for rising employment, 50 for no change and 0 for falling employment; the average is the index. A reading of 50 means increases and decreases are equally broad.
How do you read Payroll Breadth?
Above 50 means more industries are adding jobs than cutting them; below 50 means contraction is broader. The three-month span filters monthly survey noise and is the Jobs Tracker input, while the one-month line is the faster but noisier turn signal. Breadth matters because total payrolls can look healthy while gains are concentrated in only healthcare or government.
Where does the Payroll Breadth data come from?
BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES0500000021 and CES0500000022), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/payroll-diffusion.csv.
How often is Payroll Breadth updated?
Payroll Breadth is a monthly series from BLS, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts from BLS.
3-month diffusion index
Next release: Nov 6, 2026