The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business activity index, which tracks economic activity in New York State and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, fell 4.2 points to -23.6 in October 2025. This marks the weakest reading since January 2021, when the service sector was still recovering from the pandemic. The business climate index dropped to -42.9, indicating conditions remain worse than normal. Employment edged down, and wage growth stayed modest. Supply availability continued to deteriorate, while input prices remained elevated even as selling price increases slowed. Overall, firms expressed slight pessimism about the near-term outlook.