The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on March 26, providing ongoing measurements of business conditions and projections in the United States.
The BTOS is designed to offer continuous, timely insights into key economic measures such as revenues, employees, hours, and inventories for all employer businesses except farms. The survey delivers detailed information by sector, state, and the largest metropolitan areas every two weeks. This helps government officials at all levels make informed decisions based on real-time data.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS collects responses from about 1.2 million businesses through biweekly surveys. These businesses are divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 each; every panel reports once every twelve weeks over a year-long period. The average respondent spends approximately nine minutes completing the survey.
BTOS also captures how events like natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses across different regions and industries. By maintaining this regular collection schedule with geographic detail, BTOS supports monitoring of recovery efforts after significant events.
New questions related to artificial intelligence were added to the survey in November 2025; results from these questions are expected to be released in spring 2026. In addition to supporting public policy decisions at various government levels, BTOS data also help businesses evaluate current trends when making their own economic choices.
