The U.S. Census Bureau has published new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and forecasts in the United States. The BTOS includes information from businesses with multiple locations and continues to gather data that complements other economic surveys, covering areas such as revenue, employment, work hours, and inventory levels.
This survey is representative of all employer businesses in the country except farms. Its design allows for frequent updates on key economic indicators every two weeks, providing detailed insights by geography and industry subsector. According to the Census Bureau, this continuous reporting helps measure how events like natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses and supports efforts to monitor recovery.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses participate in the BTOS sample. These are divided into six groups of about 200,000 each; participants report once every twelve weeks over a year. On average, it takes nine minutes for respondents to complete the survey.
Data from the BTOS will be released every two weeks and broken down by sector, state, and the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The results offer real-time data that local, state, and federal officials can use for policy decisions while also helping businesses make informed choices.
No separate news release was issued alongside this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
