The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), an ongoing survey designed to measure business conditions and projections across the United States. The BTOS now includes information for businesses with multiple locations.
The survey covers all employer businesses in the country, except farms, and provides continuous updates on key economic indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. Data is collected every two weeks, offering timely insights into how events like natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses and helping monitor recovery efforts.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses participate in the BTOS sample. These are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each, with each panel reporting every 12 weeks over a year. The Census Bureau estimates that it takes respondents about nine minutes to complete the survey.
Data from the BTOS will be published biweekly and made available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas. 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 is no news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
