The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on April 9, offering updated information on business conditions and projections across the United States.
The BTOS is designed to provide continuous, timely data that helps track key economic measures such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. This ongoing survey is intended to give policymakers at all levels of government real-time insights into the state of the economy, as well as help businesses make informed decisions.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS data represent all employer businesses in the country except farms. The survey collects biweekly information from a sample of about 1.2 million businesses. These are divided into six panels with approximately 200,000 cases each; every panel is asked to report every twelve weeks over a yearlong period. The average respondent spends about nine minutes completing the survey, including time spent reviewing instructions and answers.
BTOS results are made available by sector, state, and for the twenty-five most populous metropolitan statistical areas every two weeks. The survey also adapts to changing economic trends; for example, new questions regarding artificial intelligence were added on November 17, 2025 and will be released in spring 2026.
These continuous releases enable officials to monitor recovery efforts following events like natural disasters or economic crises by providing geographic and subsector detail that can capture immediate impacts.
