The U.S. Census Bureau has published new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on August 28, 2025. The BTOS tracks business conditions and future expectations across employer businesses in the United States, excluding farms.
According to the Census Bureau, “BTOS includes data for multiunit/multilocation businesses. BTOS will continue to collect data complementary to key items found on other economic surveys, such as revenues, employees, hours, and inventories.”
The survey is designed to give an ongoing look at the state of the economy by providing updated figures every two weeks. It offers geographic and subsector details that help track the effects of events like natural disasters or economic downturns, as well as recovery efforts.
“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,” according to information released by the agency.
Each round of biweekly collection samples about 1.2 million businesses divided into six panels; each panel reports once every 12 weeks during a yearlong period. The Census Bureau estimates that it takes about nine minutes for a respondent to complete this survey.
Survey results are made available by sector, state, and for the nation’s 25 most populous metropolitan areas. Officials at various levels use this information for policy decisions while businesses use it for their own planning.
“There is no news release associated with this announcement. Tip sheet only,” according to the Census Bureau.
