The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which measures business conditions and projections on an ongoing basis. The survey now includes information for multiunit and multilocation businesses.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS provides representative data for all employer businesses in the United States, excluding farms. The survey collects key economic measures such as revenues, employees, hours, and inventories every two weeks. This approach allows BTOS to capture timely insights into the state of the economy and monitor the effects of events like natural disasters or economic crises.
The sample for BTOS consists of about 1.2 million businesses, divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 cases each. Each panel is asked to report every 12 weeks over a year. The Census Bureau estimates that it takes respondents around nine minutes to complete the survey.
Data from BTOS will be released biweekly and made available by sector, state, and for the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The results are intended to provide local, state, and federal officials with real-time data to support policymaking and decision-making efforts. Businesses can also use this information when making economic decisions.
No news release was issued alongside this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
