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. The survey now includes information for businesses with multiple locations, expanding its coverage of the U.S. economy.
BTOS gathers data on important economic indicators such as revenues, employment, hours worked, and inventories. The survey is designed to be representative of all employer businesses in the United States, except for farms. Data collection occurs every two weeks, allowing the survey to offer timely updates on economic trends at both geographic and industry levels.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS is structured to capture how events like natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses and to help monitor recovery efforts. The sample size consists of about 1.2 million businesses, divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 each. Each panel reports once every 12 weeks over a year-long period. On average, respondents spend about nine minutes completing the survey.
The biweekly data releases are available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country. In November 2025, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions will be published in 2026. The information collected supports local, state, and federal officials in policymaking and helps businesses make informed economic decisions.
There is no accompanying news release for this announcement; it was issued as a tip sheet only.
