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# New York Factory Growth Slows as Price Pressures Rise
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-new-york-2026-09-20-b/
- Published: 2026-09-20T06:47:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-20T06:47:33.000Z
- Description: New York manufacturers reported slower but continued growth in September, with solid hiring offset by longer delivery times, worsening supply availability and the strongest input-price pressure in four years.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: State News, New York

**New York manufacturers reported continued growth in September, but the pace slowed sharply and price pressures intensified, according to the latest Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey.** The findings point to modest expansion alongside longer delivery times and worsening supply availability.

The [Empire State Manufacturing Survey](https://www.newyorkfed.org/survey/empire/empiresurvey%5Foverview.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com), released September 15, put its general business conditions index at 7.6, down 13 points from August's four-year high but still above zero. The survey collected responses from September 2 through September 10\. New orders edged higher, while shipments declined slightly.

Manufacturers also reported growing backlogs and much slower deliveries. The unfilled-orders index was 5.9, the delivery-times index rose to 18.8, and the supply-availability index stood at minus 11.9\. In the survey's diffusion indexes, positive readings generally mean more firms reported increases than decreases; the negative supply figure indicates more respondents saw availability worsen.

Hiring remained one of the stronger signals. The number-of-employees index was 10.6, little changed from August, and the average-workweek index jumped 10 points to 17.0, its highest level in nearly five years. Yet the [latest federal payroll table](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.t03.htm?ref=theamericanquorum.com) shows why the survey should be read as a directional measure rather than a full count of factory jobs: New York had about 396,300 manufacturing jobs in August, down 800 from July and 7,600 from a year earlier.

Price pressure strengthened. The prices-paid index climbed five points to 63.1, edging above the four-year high reached in May, while the prices-received index rose five points to 28.1\. That means input-cost increases remained much more widespread than selling-price increases among respondents, a gap that can squeeze margins when firms cannot pass all higher costs to customers.

The survey is sent monthly to roughly 200 manufacturing executives across New York, and about 100 typically respond. The New York Fed explains that no single industry dominates the pool and that its headline index is a distinct question, not a weighted average of other indicators. The results therefore capture the direction and breadth of change among respondents, not the dollar value of statewide factory output.

The broader labor picture was steadier. New York's unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in August from 4.4 percent in July, while the civilian labor force decreased by 9,710 people, according to the [BLS household-survey table](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.t01.htm?ref=theamericanquorum.com). The number of unemployed residents fell by 10,099.

Manufacturers remained optimistic about the next six months: the future-business-conditions index was 29.0, about half of respondents expected activity to increase, and employment was expected to grow significantly. Capital spending plans remained modest. For businesses, however, the immediate operational signal is mixed—orders are still expanding, but supply constraints, delivery delays and faster cost increases are intensifying across the state's factory sector this month, complicating near-term planning.