The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on March 12, 2026. The survey measures business conditions and projections on an ongoing basis, collecting information that complements other economic surveys such as revenues, employees, hours, and inventories.
BTOS is designed to provide insight into the state of the U.S. economy by offering continuous and timely data for key economic measures every two weeks. The survey covers all employer businesses in the country except farms, allowing officials to monitor events like natural disasters or economic crises and track recovery efforts with detailed geographic and subsector information.
The BTOS sample includes about 1.2 million businesses, divided into six panels of approximately 200,000 cases each. Each panel is asked to report every twelve weeks over a year. According to the Census Bureau, it takes respondents an average of nine minutes to complete the survey, including time spent reviewing instructions and answers.
Data from BTOS will be released biweekly and made available by sector, state, and for the twenty-five most populous metropolitan statistical areas. New questions regarding artificial intelligence were added on November 17, 2025; results from these questions are expected in Spring 2026. The survey’s findings provide local, state, and federal officials with real-time data to support policymaking and decision-making processes while also helping businesses make informed economic decisions.
No separate news release accompanied this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
