The U.S. Census Bureau released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on April 9, offering updated information about business conditions and projections across the United States.
The BTOS is designed to provide timely, continuous data for key economic measures every two weeks. This survey is important because it gives insight into how businesses are performing, which helps local, state, and federal officials make informed decisions. It also supports businesses in their own economic planning.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS collects information from approximately 1.2 million employer businesses in the U.S., excluding farms. The sample is divided into six panels of about 200,000 cases each; each panel reports every twelve weeks for a year. The average time needed to complete the survey is estimated at nine minutes per respondent.
BTOS data are available by sector, state, and for the twenty-five most populous metropolitan statistical areas. These results help capture how events such as natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses and support monitoring recovery efforts over time.
In November 2025, new questions about artificial intelligence were added to BTOS; results from these questions will be released in spring 2026. The ongoing release of biweekly data aims to give officials real-time information that can guide policymaking.
