The Importance of the Bureau of Trade Statistics: Providing Key Data for Policymaking and Decision-Making at All Levels

The Bureau of Trade Statistics (BTS) collects and publishes data on all employer businesses in the U.S. economy, excluding farms. This data is crucial for policymaking and decision-making at the local, state, and federal levels. The BTS provides continuous, timely data for key economic measures every two weeks, which includes information on geographical and subsector levels.

The BTS sample consists of approximately 1.2 million businesses that are surveyed biweekly. These businesses are divided into six panels, each consisting of around 200,000 cases. Businesses in these panels are asked to report every 12 weeks for a year. It is estimated that the average respondent takes about nine minutes to complete the survey, including time for reading the instructions and providing answers.

The data collected through BTOS will be released biweekly and will be available by sector, state, and the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. This information is crucial for local, state, and federal officials as it provides real-time data for policymaking and decision-making. Additionally, businesses can utilize this data to make informed economic decisions.