About the Survey
Each month since January 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has conducted the Carolinas survey of business activity. The survey is sent electronically to business contacts throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.
Release Schedule
Survey results are usually released to the public on the Thursday following the fourth Tuesday of the month. While we expect to adhere to this schedule, some dates might vary due to holidays. See release schedule.
Survey Questions
Participants report on various aspects of their business, such as sales, number of employees, average work week, wages, and capital expenditures. Firms report on change from the previous month and for most of the series, the Richmond Fed then converts responses into diffusion indexes by taking the difference between the contacts who report an increase and those that report a decrease. Firms also report expectations for the next six months.
Data Definitions
Survey History
The Carolinas survey began in its current monthly form in January 2008. The current and historical data is available to download.
Related Articles
- Predicting Economic Activity through Richmond Fed Surveys, Econ Focus, Fourth Quarter 2015