The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on March 26. The survey is designed to measure business conditions and projections across the United States on an ongoing basis.
BTOS aims to provide a timely snapshot of economic activity, offering continuous data for key measures such as revenues, employees, hours, and inventories every two weeks. This information helps local, state, and federal officials make informed policy decisions and assists businesses in their economic planning.
According to the Census Bureau, BTOS covers all employer businesses in the U.S., excluding farms. The survey’s biweekly collection involves about 1.2 million businesses divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 each. Each panel reports every twelve weeks over a year-long period.
Completing the survey takes respondents approximately nine minutes on average, including time spent reviewing instructions and answers. Data are made available by sector, state, and for the twenty-five most populous metropolitan statistical areas.
New questions focusing on artificial intelligence were introduced to BTOS in November 2025; results from these questions are expected to be released in spring 2026.
The continuous release of BTOS data allows for monitoring of how events like natural disasters or economic crises affect businesses nationwide and supports efforts aimed at recovery.
