THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA: SURVEY OF BUSINESS UNCERTAINTY WED, 26 AUG 2026
The following information was released by the
The Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU) is an innovative panel survey that measures one-year-ahead expectations and uncertainties that firms have over their own employment and sales. The sample covers all regions of the
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3.57%%
Sales Revenue Growth Uncertainty (
Updated:
Next update:
Downloads
Download the data
Methodology slide deck
Special Question Archive
Related Links
Request microdata
Latest Data and News
Findings and Results
Researcher Biographies
About the Survey
About the Panel
SBU in the Media
Select a chart:
Watch this and other videos from the event
Latest Media Mentions
"There's no magic in a 4-day workweek,"The Hill,
"Even as companies crack down, execs predict a rise in remote work,"
"What Impact Does Remote Work Have On Inflation?," Forbes,
"How technology is redrawing the boundaries of the firm," The Economist,
"Getting Rid of Remote Work
"Remote work may be an unlikely ally in
"Why requiring workers to spend more days in the office could backfire," CNN Business,
"Companies are letting you work from home so they can pay you less and so you'll be happier,"
"Remote Work Leads to Slower Wage Growth for Workers,"
"Working from home has become a perk like free lunch, and it could be replacing higher salaries," Fortune,
"Working from Home Isn't a Free Company Benefit," Washington Post,
"Hutchins Roundup: Inflation expectations, remote work, and more," Brookings,
"Remote Work Could Ease Inflation, Study Shows,"Yahoo!Finance,
"Remote Work Could Save Firms
De-identified SBU microdata is now available for use by external researchers. Please complete the request form.
Latest Results as SBU Monthly Report:
Special Questions Archive:
Questions, Agust 2026
macroblog articles:
"Hybrid Working Arrangements: Who Decides?""
"
"WFH Is Onstage and Here to Stay"
"COVID, Election Uncertainty Weigh Heavily on Firms' Outlook,"
"Post-COVID Recovery? Not
"Firms Anticipate COVID-19 Uncertainty to Persist, but Not Worsen",
""Businesses Anticipate Slashing Postpandemic Travel Budgets,"
"COVID Won't Kill Demand for Office Space,"
"Firms Do Not Anticipate Regaining Pre-COVID Employment Levels through 2021,"
"Seven in 10 Firms Sought Financial Help during the COVID-19 Crisis,"
"Firms Expect Working from Home to Triple,"
"
"COVID-19 Caused 3 New Hires for Every 10 Layoffs,"
"American Firms Foresee a Huge Negative Impact of the Coronavirus,"
"New Evidence Points to Mounting Trade Policy Effects on
"Tariff Worries and
"Are Tariff Worries Cutting into
"What Are Businesses Saying about Tax Reform Now?"
"What Businesses Said about Tax Reform,"
Lena Anayi,
Barrero,
Barrero,
Technical information about the SBU:
"Surveying Business Uncertainty" by
Additional information about the methods used for the survey
Related surveys and data:
Economic Policy Uncertainty
Steven J. Davisis a senior fellow at the
Past Contributor
Lead Coordinators
Charles
Panel Coordinators
Sarah Lepkowitz
Why do we conduct this survey?
The SBU elicits a 5-point probability distribution over 12-month-ahead sales, and employment for each firm. It also elicits current values of these quantities. The survey's innovative design allows the calculation of each firm's expected growth rate over the next year and its degree of uncertainty about its expectations. Policy makers and researchers can use SBU data to help forecast economic activity and better understand how business expectations and uncertainty affect employment, sales, investment, and other economic outcomes.
For information on how the Atlanta Fed handles participant data from this survey, please refer to our online privacy policy.
The Survey of
The
For Technical Information about the SBU
Please consult "Surveying Business Uncertainty" by
Sample Survey Forms
Panel members are split evenly into two groups. A given panel member will rotate between the sales revenue and employment forms, responding to each questionnaire every other month. In addition to the core survey questions posed in the forms below, we typically ask at least one special question each month.
Employment Growth
Sales Growth
Survey Release Dates
The Survey of Business Uncertainty will be released by
2026
"When Businesses Say Inflation Is Over, Listen,"
"There's no magic in a 4-day workweek," The Hill,
"Even as companies crack down, execs predict a rise in remote work,"
"What Impact Does Remote Work Have On Inflation?," Forbes,
"How technology is redrawing the boundaries of the firm," The Economist,
"Getting Rid of Remote Work
"Remote work may be an unlikely ally in
"Why requiring workers to spend more days in the office could backfire," CNN Business,
"Companies are letting you work from home so they can pay you less and so you'll be happier,"
"Remote Work Leads to Slower Wage Growth for Workers,"
"Working from home has become a perk like free lunch, and it could be replacing higher salaries," Fortune,
"Working from Home Isn't a Free Company Benefit," Washington Post,
"Hutchins Roundup: Inflation expectations, remote work, and more," Brookings,
"Remote Work Could Ease Inflation, Study Shows,"Yahoo!Finance,
"Remote Work Could Save Firms
"The Shift to Remote Work Lessens Wage-Growth Pressures," Becker Friedman Institute Economic Finding,
"Remote Work Could Save Firms
Global risks cloud Fed's policy pivot as
Powell Seeks to Reassure Lawmakers Fed Will Curb Hot Inflation, Bloomberg,
Fed chief to
"Foundations offer cities help convincing workers to relocate",
"To Better Measure Economic Uncertainty, Look Beyond the Stock Market", Kellogg Insight,
"How Leaders Can Keep Culture Intact in a Virtual Workplace", Forbes,
"Stocks Laugh at Economic Uncertainty, for Now", Wall Street Journal,
"Is the Five-Day Office Week Over?",
"Did Coronavirus Ruin Your Plans For Retirement?," Forbes,
"How the rise of automation can inform our upskilling during the pandemic," Forbes,
"New research casts light on the pandemic's effects on resource allocation", The Economist,
"Free Exchange" Column in the Economist,
"Which jobs are coming back first? Which may never return?," Marketplace,
"Washington Wants To Pay You To Go Back To Work. Experts Say It's Not That Simple," Forbes,
"Coronavirus has kicked off a 'massive' economic shift and no one knows where it's going,"
"One-Third of
"Millions of Job Losses Are at Risk of Becoming Permanent," Bloomberg,
"Save America.
"Some Americans return to work, but is the job market recovering?," ABC News,
"Pandemic Economics: A Case for Optimism," radio interview with
"Millions of
"How COVID-19 Is Disrupting Business, Financial Markets, and Public Policy," Chicago Booth Review,
"Economic recovery will be slow and difficult," The Hill Times,
"Central bank printing presses might be in overdrive, but inflation is not the real threat here,"
"How 2 of of every 5 jobs lost during COVID-19 may not come back," World Economic Forum,
"Banks, Defense Firs Rush to
"Dealing with Troublous Times," The Hill,
"COVID-19 will end some jobs, and transform others," Chicago Booth Review,
"Will Coronavirus-related job losses eventually return?"
"'Major reallocation shock' from coronavirus will see 42% of lost jobs evaporate,"
"
"Why the Pandemic Could Eventually Lower Inequality," Economist,
"Why this Economist Says 42% of Coronavirus-Related Job Losses Will Be Permanent," CNBC,
"Hutchins Roundup: Lockdowns, Commutes and More,"
Interview with
"Baker, Bloom, Davis, Terry COVID-Induced Economic Uncertainty,"
"US companies are bracing for a big blow from COVID-19," Chicago Booth Review,
"US private sector cuts
THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA: GDPNOW AUG. 26, 2026
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