The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which measures business conditions and projections across the United States. The survey, updated every two weeks, covers all employer businesses except farms and now includes data for companies with multiple locations.
The BTOS aims to provide timely insights into key economic indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. The survey is designed to capture the effects of events like natural disasters or economic crises and help monitor recovery efforts by offering continuous data with geographic and subsector detail.
About 1.2 million businesses participate in the BTOS through a biweekly data collection process. These businesses are divided into six panels of approximately 200,000 each, with each panel asked to report every 12 weeks over a year. According to the Census Bureau, it takes an average of nine minutes for respondents to complete the survey.
Data from the BTOS will be made available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas on a biweekly basis. New questions regarding artificial intelligence were added on November 17 and are scheduled for release in 2026. The results are intended to support local, state, and federal officials in policymaking as well as assist businesses in making informed economic decisions.
There is no separate news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
