The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which provides ongoing information about business conditions and future projections across the United States, excluding farms. The BTOS is designed to complement existing economic surveys by collecting details on revenues, employment, hours worked, and inventories.
According to the Census Bureau, the survey covers all employer businesses in the country and delivers updates every two weeks. The data include breakdowns by sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas. This frequent reporting helps track economic shifts resulting from events such as natural disasters or financial crises and supports monitoring of recovery efforts.
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 12 weeks throughout a year. Completing the survey takes an average of nine minutes per respondent.
Starting November 17, 2025, new questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey. Results from these questions are expected to be available in Spring 2026.
The Census Bureau stated that “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 for this announcement; it was issued as a tip sheet only.
