The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which measures ongoing business conditions and projections across the United States. The survey now includes information for businesses with multiple locations.
The BTOS collects data on key economic indicators such as revenues, employment, hours worked, and inventories. This survey covers all employer businesses in the country except farms. Data is gathered every two weeks, providing continuous updates that include geographic and industry-specific details. According to the Census Bureau, this approach helps capture the effects of events like natural disasters or economic downturns and supports monitoring of recovery efforts.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample. These are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each, with each panel asked to report once every 12 weeks over a year. Completing the survey takes an average of nine minutes per respondent.
Results from the BTOS will be published biweekly and will be available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas. The Census Bureau states that these results provide local, state, and federal officials with timely data to support policy decisions. Businesses can also use this information to guide their own economic planning.
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