The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which provides ongoing information about business conditions and projections across the United States. The survey now includes data for businesses with multiple locations.
The BTOS is designed to complement other economic surveys by collecting information on revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. It covers all employer businesses in the country except farms. According to the Census Bureau, this survey offers timely and continuous data every two weeks, helping track economic trends and assess impacts from events such as natural disasters or economic crises.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample, with biweekly data collection. These businesses are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each; each panel is surveyed every 12 weeks over a year. The agency estimates that it takes an average of nine minutes for respondents to complete the survey.
Survey results are released every two weeks and are available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas. New questions related to artificial intelligence were added on November 17; responses to these will be published in 2026. The Census Bureau notes that “survey results give local, state and federal officials essential, real-time data to aid in policymaking and decision-making.” The information also helps businesses make informed economic decisions.
There was no news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
