Measuring Business Trends and Outlook through a New Survey
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 140-44)
Abstract
The Census Bureau's new Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) provides timely information from businesses on their current trends and expectations over core concepts such as prices, employment, and revenue. The BTOS collects qualitative information in order to produce extensive margins for core economic phenomena. BTOS results are representative of all single-location nonfarm businesses in the United States. We highlight sectoral differences in extensive margins of employment and prices using the Finance and Insurance sector and the Accommodation and Food Services sector as examples. We find that businesses, especially in Accommodation and Food Services, anticipate future output price increases, possibly to accommodate rising current input prices.Citation
Buffington, Catherine, Lucia Foster, and Colin Shevlin. 2023. "Measuring Business Trends and Outlook through a New Survey." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 140-44. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231051Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C83 Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
- E31 Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
- G20 Financial Institutions and Services: General
- J23 Labor Demand
- L25 Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
- L83 Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism