Census Bureau's Business Outlook Survey: Paperwork Ping
Published Date: 9/9/2026
Notice
Summary
No summary available.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 1 mixed.
BTOS Adds Multi‑Unit Businesses
The Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) will expand its scope to include multi‑unit businesses (those with more than one location). BTOS previously included only single‑unit businesses and targets all nonfarm employer businesses with receipts of $1,000 or more in the United States, DC, and Puerto Rico.
Survey Time Burden for Businesses
BTOS expects 396,000 responses in cycles 1, 3, and 4 and 132,000 responses in cycle 2. Average time per response is 10 minutes for cycles 1, 3, and 4 and 20 minutes for cycle 2, with total estimated burden hours of 110,000. Participation is voluntary.
New Core Question on Business Uncertainty
The Census Bureau requests approval to add a new core BTOS question about business uncertainty; this new core question has undergone cognitive testing and will be included in the core set of items that respondents answer.
AI Questions Moved Into Core; AI Supplement Repeat
The Census Bureau seeks approval to repeat an AI supplemental module with minor changes and to move two AI items (Generative AI usage and AI impact on total employees) into core questions, plus add a new core question about AI impacts on new employees. Skip logic will restrict AI questions to businesses that report AI usage.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-20249, Notice of Data Sharing Activity
Starting October 2, 2026, the Census Bureau will share some business survey data with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to help make U.S. economic stats more accurate and efficient. This affects businesses that voluntarily provide info in Census surveys, with no legal pressure to share. Only trusted BEA staff sworn to keep data secret will see the info, and there’s no cost impact for businesses.
2026-20167, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; DOC-Census Workforce Development Collection
The Census Bureau is asking for approval to collect info from 230 workforce training groups linked to Manufacturing USA and two grant programs. This new data will help track how well these training programs work by connecting participant info with Census data. The goal? To make smarter decisions about future workforce investments without adding too much extra work—each group spends just 1-2 hours a year on this.
2026-20155, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD)
The Census Bureau wants to keep collecting data for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program, which helps track jobs and workers over time. They’re asking the public to comment by November 30, 2026, before they get final approval from the Office of Management and Budget. This keeps the data flowing without adding extra hassle or cost to businesses and workers.
2026-20153, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Quarterly Services Survey (QSS)
The U.S. Census Bureau wants to keep running the Quarterly Services Survey for three more years without changes. This survey asks certain U.S. service businesses for info to help track the economy. If you’re involved, you can comment by November 30, 2026, but there’s no new cost or extra paperwork planned.
2026-19301, Proposed Data Sharing Activity
The Census Bureau wants to share some business data with the Bureau of Economic Analysis to help improve economic reports. This change affects businesses whose data is collected and aims to make government info more useful without extra costs. People have until November 23, 2026, to share their thoughts on this plan.
2026-18481, Decennial Census of the Population of Americans; Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions
The Census Bureau is proposing to add two new parts to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the decennial census of population and housing. First, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part outlining the residence criteria used for identifying each person's "usual residence," as needed to determine whether and where to count them in the census of the population throughout the United States. Second, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part establishing standards and restrictions for the inclusion of certain demographic questions on the decennial census short-form questionnaire and any other questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population. The Census Bureau is considering these two additions to better prioritize and fulfill its Constitutional mandate to count for apportionment the "whole number of persons in each State" based on the concept of "usual residence"--a process that factors in an element of allegiance but otherwise should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics, such as race. Although these two parts are somewhat related and complementary, each is being proposed independently based on its own merits. These proposals are intended to ensure fidelity to the Constitution, improve and protect the core decennial census data, and promote efficiency.
Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2026-18303, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NTIA Internet Use Survey
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Next: 2026-18305, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; American Lobster-Annual Trap Transfer Program