The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on April 9, which tracks business conditions and projections across the country. The BTOS is designed to provide continuous and timely information on key economic measures, including revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories.
The survey covers all employer businesses in the United States except farms, offering a broad view of economic activity nationwide. By collecting biweekly data with geographic and industry-specific detail, BTOS helps monitor how events such as natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses and supports efforts to track recovery.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample. These are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each; every panel reports once every twelve weeks over a year-long period. According to the Census Bureau’s estimates, it takes respondents around nine minutes to complete the survey.
Results from BTOS are released every two weeks and are available by sector, state, and for the nation’s 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The Census Bureau added new questions about artificial intelligence in November 2025; responses will be published in Spring 2026.
According to the announcement, “Survey results give local, state and federal officials essential, real-time data to aid in policymaking and decision-making.” The information is also intended to help businesses make informed economic decisions.
