The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which provides ongoing measurements of business conditions and future projections across the United States. The BTOS now includes information from businesses with multiple locations.
According to the Census Bureau, “BTOS data are representative of all employer businesses in the U.S. economy, excluding farms. BTOS provides insight into the state of the economy by providing continuous, timely data for key economic measures every two weeks. By providing continuous data with geographic and subsector detail, BTOS captures the impact of events like natural disasters and economic crises and assists in monitoring recovery efforts.”
The survey samples about 1.2 million businesses nationwide through biweekly collections. These businesses are divided into six panels, each consisting of around 200,000 cases that report once every 12 weeks over a year. The Census Bureau estimates that it takes respondents an average of nine minutes to complete the survey.
Results from BTOS will be published every two weeks and made available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in terms of population. On November 17, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey; findings on these topics are expected to be released in 2026.
The information gathered is intended to help officials at various levels make informed policy decisions using up-to-date local and national business trends. Businesses can also use this real-time data when making their own economic decisions.
There is no separate news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
