The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which measures ongoing business conditions and projections across the United States. The survey now includes information for multiunit and multilocation businesses.
The BTOS collects data that complements other economic surveys, covering key indicators such as revenues, employees, hours worked, and inventories. The survey is designed to provide a continuous view of the economy by collecting timely data every two weeks with geographic and subsector details. This approach allows the survey to capture the effects of events like natural disasters or economic crises and helps monitor recovery efforts.
Approximately 1.2 million businesses are included in the BTOS sample, with biweekly data collection taking place. Businesses selected for participation are divided into six panels of about 200,000 cases each, reporting every 12 weeks over a year. According to Census Bureau estimates, it takes an average respondent about nine minutes to complete the survey.
Survey results will be published biweekly and will be available by sector, state, and for the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The information provided by BTOS supports local, state, and federal officials in making policy decisions and also assists businesses in their economic planning.
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