The Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) provides insight into the state of the economy by providing timely data for key economic measures and business expectations about future conditions. By providing detailed geographic and subsector data, BTOS provides local, state, and federal officials near real-time data for policy and decision-making including after natural disasters or during economic crises. The BTOS provides insight into recovery after these events.

The BTOS sample consists of approximately 1.2 million businesses split into six panels (approximately 200,000 cases per panel). Businesses in each panel will be asked to report once every 12 weeks for a year. Data collection will occur every two weeks. The BTOS is comprised of a set of core questions and supplemental content, which is included as needed.

BTOS data are representative of all employer businesses in the U.S. economy, excluding farms. For data released before September 2023, the BTOS sample includes all single-location employer businesses in the U.S., excluding farms. Data are released every two weeks and are available by 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sector, by state and for the 25 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Data are also available by subsector (three-digit NAICS), employment size class, and state by sector.