The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which provides ongoing information about business conditions and projections across the United States. The survey now includes data for businesses with multiple units or locations.
The BTOS is designed to represent all employer businesses in the country, excluding farms. It collects key economic indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories every two weeks. This continuous approach allows for timely monitoring of economic changes at both geographic and industry levels. According to the Census Bureau, this enables tracking of events like natural disasters or economic crises and helps monitor recovery efforts.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are part of the BTOS sample, with biweekly data collection occurring through a rotating panel system. Each panel consists of about 200,000 businesses that report every 12 weeks over a year. The average time needed to complete the survey is estimated at nine minutes.
Results from the BTOS will be published every two weeks and broken down by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. In November 2025, questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions will be available in 2026.
According to the Census Bureau: “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 was no formal news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
