The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) as of August 14, 2025. The BTOS is an ongoing survey that collects information on business conditions and future expectations, now including data from multiunit or multilocation businesses.
According to the Census Bureau, “BTOS data are representative of all employer businesses in the U.S. economy, excluding farms. BTOS provides insight into the state of the economy by providing continuous, timely data for key economic measures every two weeks. By providing continuous data with geographic and subsector detail, BTOS captures the impact of events like natural disasters and economic crises and assists in monitoring recovery efforts.”
The survey’s sample includes about 1.2 million businesses, with biweekly data collection. Businesses selected for participation are divided into six panels of roughly 200,000 each; each panel reports every 12 weeks over a one-year period. The Census Bureau notes, “The Census Bureau estimates it takes the average respondent approximately nine minutes to complete the survey, including the time for reviewing the instructions and answers.”
BTOS releases its findings every two weeks, making information available by industry sector, state, and for the 25 largest metropolitan areas in terms of population. The results are intended to help officials at various levels of government make policy decisions using up-to-date local economic data. The information also supports business decision-making.
There is no formal news release linked to this announcement; it was distributed as a tip sheet.
