The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which provides ongoing measurements of business conditions and projections across the United States, excluding farms. The BTOS is designed to offer timely information on economic indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories.
The survey covers about 1.2 million employer businesses through a biweekly data collection process. These businesses are divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 each, with each panel asked to report every 12 weeks over the course of a year. According to the Census Bureau, it takes an average respondent about nine minutes to complete the survey.
BTOS data are published every two weeks and are available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country. The survey aims to provide continuous and detailed geographic information that can help capture the effects of events like natural disasters or economic crises and support monitoring of recovery efforts.
On November 17, 2025, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions are expected to be released in Spring 2026. The information collected by BTOS supports local, state, and federal officials in policymaking and decision-making processes while also assisting businesses in making informed economic decisions.
There is no news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
