The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), a program designed to provide ongoing measurement of business conditions and projections. The survey now includes information for businesses with multiple units or locations.
The BTOS covers all employer businesses in the United States, except for farms. It delivers timely economic data every two weeks, offering details by geographic area and industry subsector. This regular reporting helps track the effects of events such as natural disasters or economic downturns and supports efforts to monitor recovery.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample, with data collected biweekly. Businesses are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each, and each panel is surveyed once every 12 weeks over a year-long period. The Census Bureau estimates that respondents spend around nine minutes completing the survey.
Survey results are made available every two weeks by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country. On November 17, new questions on artificial intelligence were added to the survey; responses to these will be released in 2026. The BTOS provides essential real-time information that local, state, and federal officials use for policymaking and decision-making. Businesses also use this information when making economic decisions.
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