The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and projections on a regular basis. The survey now includes information for businesses with multiple locations.
The BTOS covers all employer businesses in the United States, except for farms. It provides frequent updates every two weeks on key economic indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. The survey is designed to capture how events like natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses and to help monitor recovery efforts.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample. These are divided into six groups of about 200,000 each, with each group reporting every 12 weeks over the course of a year. According to the Census Bureau, it takes about nine minutes for respondents to complete the survey.
Data from the BTOS will be released every two weeks and will be available by industry sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country. Starting November 17, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions will be made public 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.”
There is no separate news release for this announcement; only a tip sheet has been provided.
