The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which provides ongoing measurement of business conditions and projections. The BTOS includes information for businesses with multiple units or locations, complementing other economic surveys by collecting data on revenues, employees, hours, and inventories.
The survey covers all employer businesses in the United States except farms. It offers continuous and timely updates on key economic measures every two weeks. This approach allows the BTOS to reflect the effects of events such as natural disasters and economic crises, supporting efforts to monitor recovery.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample, with biweekly data collection. These businesses are divided into six panels of about 200,000 each; each panel reports every 12 weeks over a year. The Census Bureau estimates that respondents spend about nine minutes completing the survey.
Data from the BTOS will be published every two weeks and made available by sector, state, and for the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. According to the Census Bureau, “Survey results give local, state and federal officials essential, real-time data to aid in policymaking and decision-making. In addition, the information aids businesses in making economic decisions.”
No formal news release was issued with this announcement; it was distributed as a tip sheet only.
