The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on March 26. The BTOS is designed to measure business conditions and projections in the United States on an ongoing basis.
The survey provides important information for understanding economic trends, as it collects continuous, timely data every two weeks from employer businesses across the country, excluding farms. This regular reporting helps policymakers at all levels of government monitor changes in key economic measures such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS samples about 1.2 million businesses with biweekly data collection. These businesses are divided into six panels of approximately 200,000 each; each panel is asked to report every twelve weeks over a year. The agency estimates that it takes respondents around nine minutes to complete the survey.
BTOS results are released biweekly and are available by sector, state, and for the twenty-five most populous metropolitan statistical areas. In November 2025, new questions regarding artificial intelligence were added to the survey; results from these questions will be published in Spring 2026.
The information collected through BTOS supports decision-making by local, state, and federal officials as well as helping businesses make informed economic decisions.
