The Chicago Business Barometer™, otherwise known as the Chicago PMI, is a weighted composite indicator made up of five sub-indicators: New Orders, Production, Employment, Order Backlogs and Supplier Deliveries.
The Chicago PMI is a diffusion index - readings above 50 indicate expansion, neutral at 50 while numbers below 50 indicate contraction.
Importantly, the Chicgo PMI Identifies direction of business trends and focusses on Chicago’s dynamic business sector.
The Chicago PMI is closely correlated to the official U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) data and provides better forward guidance compared to most other regional US surveys.
As well as the headline Barometer, the survey’s sub-indices also correlate well on a level basis with a number of US economic points - Production, New Orders, Employment and Prices Paid indicators have shown a robust relationship with their corresponding respective official data.
Please see below the upcoming 2026 release dates for the Chicago Business Barometer™:
Please see below the upcoming 2026 release dates for the Chicago Business Barometer™:
| Release Dates | Time (ET) |
| January 30 | 09:45 |
| February 27 | 09:45 |
| March 31 | 09:45 |
| April 30 | 09:45 |
| May 29 | 09:45 |
| June 30 | 09:45 |
| July 31 | 09:45 |
| August 28 | 09:45 |
| September 30 | 09:45 |
| October 30 | 09:45 |
| November 30 | 09:45 |
| December 30 | 09:45 |
