The U.S. Census Bureau has published new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), a program that monitors business conditions and future projections across the country. The survey now includes information from businesses with multiple locations.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS gathers data on topics such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. This data is updated every two weeks and covers all employer businesses in the United States except for farms. The survey aims to provide timely and detailed economic information at both geographic and industry subsector levels. These frequent updates allow policymakers to assess how events like natural disasters or economic downturns affect different parts of the economy and to track recovery efforts.
The BTOS sample includes about 1.2 million businesses, which are divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 cases each. Each panel reports once every 12 weeks over a one-year period. The Census Bureau estimates that completing the survey takes an average respondent about nine minutes.
Survey results are released biweekly and are available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. In November 2025, new questions regarding artificial intelligence were added to the survey; these results will be made public 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. In addition, the information aids businesses in making economic decisions.”
There was no news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
