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 businesses with multiple locations, expanding its coverage.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS provides continuous and timely data for key economic indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. The survey is representative of all employer businesses in the United States except farms. Data are collected every two weeks, offering detailed geographic and industry insights that help capture the effects of events like natural disasters or economic crises and support monitoring recovery efforts.
The BTOS sample consists of about 1.2 million businesses divided into six panels of approximately 200,000 each. Each panel is surveyed every 12 weeks over a year. The agency estimates that respondents spend around nine minutes completing the survey.
Data from BTOS will be released biweekly by sector, state, and for the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. In November 2025, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions are expected to be published in 2026.
The Census Bureau states: “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 separate news release associated with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
