NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Activity expands at slower pace in September

From the NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Survey

The September 2013 Empire State Manufacturing Survey suggests that conditions for New York manufacturers improved modestly for the fourth straight month. The general business conditions index edged down two points but, at 6.3, remained in positive territory. The new orders index inched up two points to 2.4 ...

Labor market conditions were mostly steady; the index for number of employees retreated three points to 7.5 and the average workweek index edged down to a neutral reading of 1.1. Indexes for the six-month outlook revealed increasingly widespread optimism about future business activity. The future general business conditions index rose for the third straight month, climbing three points to 40.6, its highest level since the spring of 2012.
emphasis added

This is the first of the regional surveys for September.  The general business conditions index was below the consensus forecast of a reading of 9.0, but shows continued modest expansion.