The U.S. Census Bureau has published new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and projections on an ongoing basis. The survey collects information that complements other economic surveys, focusing on areas such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories.
BTOS covers all employer businesses in the United States except farms. It provides timely and continuous data every two weeks to help monitor key economic indicators. This regular reporting offers detailed insights by geography and industry subsector, making it possible to assess the effects of events like natural disasters or economic downturns and track recovery efforts.
The BTOS sample includes about 1.2 million businesses divided into six panels of approximately 200,000 each. Each panel is surveyed every 12 weeks over a one-year period. According to the Census Bureau, completing the survey takes an average of nine minutes for respondents.
Results from BTOS are released biweekly and are available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country. In November 2025, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added; data from these questions will be released in Spring 2026. The findings provide valuable real-time information for policymakers at all levels of government as well as for business leaders making economic decisions.
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