The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and future expectations on a regular basis. The survey includes information for businesses with multiple locations, covering a wide range of economic indicators such as revenues, employment, hours worked, and inventories.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS provides data that represents all employer businesses in the United States except farms. The survey delivers updated economic measures every two weeks and offers detailed geographic and industry-specific insights. This approach helps capture the effects of events like natural disasters or economic downturns while supporting 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; every panel is surveyed once every 12 weeks throughout the year. The Census Bureau estimates that respondents spend around nine minutes completing the survey.
Results from BTOS will be published every two weeks and will be available by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country. These findings provide local, state, and federal officials with timely data needed for policy development and decision-making processes. Businesses can also use this information to inform their own economic strategies.
There was no formal news release accompanying this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
