The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and future projections across the country. The survey, updated every two weeks, covers all employer businesses in the United States except for farms.
The BTOS collects information on topics such as revenues, employment, hours worked, and inventories. The data is designed to complement other economic surveys and provide ongoing insight into key economic measures. By offering continuous updates with geographic and industry-specific detail, the survey helps monitor the effects of events like natural disasters or economic downturns and supports recovery tracking.
About 1.2 million businesses participate in the BTOS sample. These are divided into six panels of around 200,000 each, with each panel reporting once every 12 weeks over a year-long period. On average, respondents spend about nine minutes completing the survey.
Survey results are published biweekly and can be accessed by sector, state, and within the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas. In November 2025, new questions about artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions will be available in 2026. The data provided by BTOS assists officials at all levels of government in making informed policy decisions and also supports businesses as they plan for changing economic conditions.
There is no formal news release associated with this announcement; it was distributed as a tip sheet only.
