The U.S. Census Bureau has published new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracks business conditions and projections across the United States. The BTOS covers multiunit and multilocation businesses, collecting information that complements other economic surveys by including key indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories.
According to the Census Bureau, the BTOS is designed to represent all employer businesses in the U.S. economy except for farms. The survey delivers ongoing data every two weeks, providing geographic and industry-specific details that help monitor economic changes resulting from events like natural disasters or economic crises. This approach supports efforts to track recovery and understand the broader state of the economy.
The BTOS draws its sample from around 1.2 million businesses. These are divided into six panels of approximately 200,000 cases each, with each panel reporting once every 12 weeks throughout a year. The agency estimates it takes respondents about nine minutes to complete the survey, including time spent reviewing instructions.
Survey results will be released on a biweekly basis and will include breakdowns by sector, state, and for the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The Census Bureau states that these results provide “local, state and federal officials essential, real-time data to aid in policymaking and decision-making.” The agency also notes that “the information aids businesses in making economic decisions.”
No formal news release was issued with this announcement; only a tip sheet was provided.
