What the Aug. 13 BTOS Release Adds to Business Data

On Aug. 13, 2026, the U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey, a biweekly survey of U.S. employer businesses outside farming. The survey tracks revenues, employees, hours and inventories, making it a faster complement to the monthly and quarterly indicators that usually shape economic analysis.

The BTOS sample covers roughly 1.2 million businesses, divided into six panels of about 200,000. Each selected business reports once every 12 weeks, and the Census Bureau estimates the average response takes about nine minutes, including review time. The design is intended to keep respondent burden low while maintaining a representative national sample.

Data will be published every two weeks with detail by sector, state and the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. According to the Census Bureau, the series gives local, state and federal officials timely information for policy decisions and helps businesses benchmark their own operations. The bureau also uses the survey to track the economic impact of natural disasters and other crises.

Why Biweekly Business Conditions Data Matters for Decision-Makers

Why the Biweekly Read Changes the Signal

Most official business indicators arrive monthly or quarterly. BTOS provides a higher-frequency view of four core operating measures: revenue, employees, hours and inventories. For economists and policymakers, that shortens the delay between an economic shock and its first measurable appearance in official data. The value is not a single report but the trend across successive biweekly releases.

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What the Six-Panel Design Means for Interpretation

The 1.2-million-business sample is split into six panels of about 200,000, with each business reporting once every 12 weeks. That structure preserves a large sample while limiting how often any respondent is contacted. It also means consecutive biweekly changes are drawn from different panels, so analysts should read short-term movements as signal rather than firm-level continuity.

Where the Geographic Detail Points

Publishing data by sector, state and the 25 largest metro areas is aimed at disaster monitoring and local decision-making. After a hurricane, port disruption or localized demand shock, officials can compare revenue, hours or inventory changes in affected areas with the national pattern. That geographic cut is likely to be the most used feature for regional economists and trade associations.

How Analysts and Businesses Can Use the New BTOS Data

For business owners, analysts and public-sector users, the practical use is to treat BTOS as a faster, geographically detailed benchmark of business conditions.

  • Review the sector, state and metro tables every two weeks. The survey reports revenue, employees, hours and inventories, so a company can compare its own operating indicators with the relevant subsector to judge whether a slowdown or pickup is local or broader.
  • Use state and metro cuts after shock events. Following a natural disaster or supply-chain disruption, the geographic detail is designed to show whether hours and revenue in affected areas diverge from the national trend, helping local officials allocate attention.
  • Read consecutive releases as panel-based signals. Because each business reports once every 12 weeks, changes between adjacent biweekly releases reflect different sample panels; they are directionally useful but should not be interpreted as tracking the same businesses over time.