Bureau of Labor Statistics

aid: bls-gov
name: Bureau of Labor Statistics
description: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal federal statistical agency responsible for measuring
  labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy. BLS operates the Public
  Data API at api.bls.gov, providing programmatic JSON access to published historical time series across more than 75 surveys
  — including the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Producer Price Index (PPI), Employment Situation (CES), Local Area Unemployment
  Statistics (LAUS), Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS),
  Employment Cost Index (ECI), Productivity, Import/Export Price Indexes, and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
  Version 1 is open without registration; Version 2 requires a free registration key and provides higher daily limits, more
  series per request, longer year ranges, catalog metadata, statistical calculations, and annual averages.
type: Index
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: open
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: true
  label: Freemium · Open access
  confidence: high
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
position: Consumer
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/bls-gov.png
tags:
- Federal Government
- Labor Statistics
- Economic Data
- Consumer Price Index
- Producer Price Index
- Employment
- Unemployment
- Wages
- Productivity
- Open Data
- Time Series
created: '2026-05-25'
modified: '2026-05-25'
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: bls-gov:bls-gov-popular-series-api
  name: Bureau of Labor Statistics Popular Series API
  description: Retrieve the most popular BLS series identifiers
  humanURL: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
  baseURL: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2
  tags:
  - Popular Series
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/bls-gov-popular-series-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_signature_v2.htm
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_FAQs.htm
  - type: Registration
    url: https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/termsOfService.htm
  - type: SignatureExamples
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_sample_code.htm
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-schema/bls-time-series-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-structure/bls-time-series-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-ld/bls-gov-context.jsonld
  - type: SpectralRuleset
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/rules/bls-public-data-api-rules.yml
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/surveys
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/popular
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/bls-gov-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/bls-gov-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/bls-gov-finops.yml
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/bls-get-unemployment-rate-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/bls-list-surveys-example.json
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/bls-gov-vocabulary.yml
- aid: bls-gov:bls-gov-surveys-api
  name: Bureau of Labor Statistics Surveys API
  description: Discover and list available BLS surveys
  humanURL: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
  baseURL: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2
  tags:
  - Surveys
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/bls-gov-surveys-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_signature_v2.htm
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_FAQs.htm
  - type: Registration
    url: https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/termsOfService.htm
  - type: SignatureExamples
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_sample_code.htm
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-schema/bls-time-series-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-structure/bls-time-series-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-ld/bls-gov-context.jsonld
  - type: SpectralRuleset
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/rules/bls-public-data-api-rules.yml
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/surveys
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/popular
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/bls-gov-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/bls-gov-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/bls-gov-finops.yml
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/bls-get-unemployment-rate-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/bls-list-surveys-example.json
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/bls-gov-vocabulary.yml
- aid: bls-gov:bls-gov-time-series-api
  name: Bureau of Labor Statistics Time Series API
  description: Retrieve time series data for BLS statistical series
  humanURL: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
  baseURL: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2
  tags:
  - Time Series
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/bls-gov-time-series-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_signature_v2.htm
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_FAQs.htm
  - type: Registration
    url: https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/termsOfService.htm
  - type: SignatureExamples
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_sample_code.htm
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-schema/bls-time-series-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-structure/bls-time-series-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/json-ld/bls-gov-context.jsonld
  - type: SpectralRuleset
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bls-gov/refs/heads/main/rules/bls-public-data-api-rules.yml
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/surveys
  - type: DataAPI
    url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/popular
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/bls-gov-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/bls-gov-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/bls-gov-finops.yml
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/bls-get-unemployment-rate-example.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/bls-list-surveys-example.json
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/bls-gov-vocabulary.yml
features:
- name: Time Series Data Retrieval
  description: Retrieve historical time series for one or many BLS series IDs in a single JSON response.
- name: Multi-Series Batch Queries
  description: With a v2 registration key, request up to 50 series IDs in a single POST and span up to 20 years.
- name: Date Range Filtering
  description: Constrain queries with startyear/endyear (and optional startperiod/endperiod) to retrieve only the range you
    need.
- name: Statistical Calculations
  description: Optional net change and percent change calculations over 1, 3, 6, and 12 month windows on v2 requests.
- name: Catalog Metadata
  description: Request series-level catalog metadata (survey, area, item, seasonality) inline with the time series payload.
- name: Annual Averages
  description: Include the M13 annual average period alongside monthly values for CPI, PPI, and similar series.
- name: Latest Observation Shortcut
  description: Append latest=true to the GET endpoint to retrieve only the most recent data point for a series.
- name: Survey Discovery
  description: List all BLS surveys with their two-letter abbreviation and human-readable name.
- name: Survey Metadata
  description: Inspect a single survey for capability flags (allowsNetChange, allowsPercentChange, hasAnnualAverages).
- name: Popular Series
  description: Retrieve the 25 most-requested series IDs overall or scoped to a specific survey abbreviation.
useCases:
- name: Inflation Monitoring
  description: Track CPI-U, CPI-W, Chained CPI, and PPI series for inflation dashboards and forecasting.
- name: Labor Market Analysis
  description: Pull unemployment rate, labor force participation, payroll employment, and JOLTS series to monitor the labor
    market.
- name: Wage & Compensation Benchmarking
  description: Use OEWS, ECI, and ECEC series for occupational wage and total compensation benchmarking.
- name: Regional Economic Dashboards
  description: Combine LAUS and QCEW series for state, MSA, and county-level employment and unemployment dashboards.
- name: Workplace Safety Reporting
  description: Surface CFOI fatal injury and SOII non-fatal injury statistics for ESG and safety reporting.
- name: Productivity Research
  description: Retrieve labor productivity and unit labor cost series for productivity research.
- name: Trade Price Analysis
  description: Pull Import/Export Price Index series to analyze cost pass-through in supply chains.
solutions:
- name: Economic Intelligence Platforms
  description: Embed BLS series directly into market intelligence and macro research platforms.
- name: HR Analytics & Compensation Tools
  description: Power HR comp planning and pay equity tools with OEWS and ECI data.
- name: Open Government Data Portals
  description: Enrich open data portals and civic apps with BLS statistical datasets.
- name: AI Economic Agents
  description: Feed BLS time series into AI assistants and Naftiko capabilities for economic analysis and forecasting.
integrations:
- name: data.gov
  description: BLS datasets are cataloged at catalog.data.gov under the bls-gov organization.
  url: https://catalog.data.gov/organization/bls-gov
- name: FRED (St. Louis Fed)
  description: FRED ingests and redistributes a large share of BLS series and is a common downstream consumer.
  url: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
- name: Census Bureau
  description: BLS QCEW and OEWS data align with Census Bureau geographic and industry classifications (NAICS, SOC).
  url: https://www.census.gov/
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/bls-gov-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/bls-gov-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/bls-gov-authentication.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://www.bls.gov/
- type: Developer
  url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
- type: Registration
  url: https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/termsOfService.htm
- type: ContactUs
  url: https://www.bls.gov/contact/
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-of-labor-statistics
- type: Twitter
  url: https://twitter.com/BLS_gov
- type: Facebook
  url: https://www.facebook.com/BLSgov
- type: YouTube
  url: https://www.youtube.com/user/blsgov
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com