The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and projections on an ongoing basis. The survey includes information for multiunit and multilocation businesses, aiming to complement existing economic surveys by collecting data on revenues, employees, hours, and inventories.
The BTOS is designed to represent all employer businesses in the United States, with the exception of farms. It provides continuous and timely updates on key economic indicators every two weeks. The data are available with geographic and subsector detail, allowing analysts to assess the impact of events such as natural disasters or economic crises and to monitor recovery efforts.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses participate in the BTOS sample, with biweekly data collection. The selected businesses are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each; each panel reports every 12 weeks over a year. According to the Census Bureau, it takes respondents an average of nine minutes to complete the survey.
Results from BTOS are released every two weeks and include breakdowns by sector, state, and for the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. New questions focusing on artificial intelligence were introduced on November 17, 2025; findings from these will be available in 2026. The Census Bureau states 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.”
No separate news release accompanied this announcement.
