README.md
Access U.S. labor market data including employment, unemployment, wages, inflation (CPI), and industry statistics.
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) MCP Server
Access U.S. labor market data including employment, unemployment, wages, inflation (CPI), and industry statistics.
Data Available
- Employment/Unemployment - National and state-level employment statistics
- Consumer Price Index (CPI) - Inflation data by category
- Wages - Average hourly/weekly earnings by industry
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) - Employer-level data
- Occupational Employment - Employment and wages by occupation
Setup
- Get a free API key at: https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/
- Add to your MCP config:
{
"bls": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/bls/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"BLS_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
Tools
`query`
Fetch BLS time series data for up to 50 series.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| seriesIds | Yes | Array of series IDs (max 50) |
| startYear | Yes | Start year (e.g., "2020") |
| endYear | Yes | End year (e.g., "2024") |
| calculations | No | Include percent changes (default: false) |
| annualAverage | No | Include annual averages (default: false) |
Example: Get unemployment rate and CPI
seriesIds: ["LNS14000000", "CUUR0000SA0"]
startYear: "2020"
endYear: "2024"
`series_guide`
Show common BLS series IDs and how to construct them.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| category | No | "CPI", "UNEMPLOYMENT", "EMPLOYMENT", "QCEW", or "ALL" |
`get_cpi`
Shortcut for Consumer Price Index (inflation) data.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| startYear | Yes | Start year |
| endYear | Yes | End year |
| items | No | "all", "food", "housing", "medical", "transport", or comma-separated |
Example: Get CPI for food and housing
startYear: "2020"
endYear: "2024"
items: "food,housing"
`get_unemployment`
Shortcut for national unemployment rate.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| startYear | Yes | Start year |
| endYear | Yes | End year |
`get_employment`
Shortcut for employment by major industry sector.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| startYear | Yes | Start year |
| endYear | Yes | End year |
| sector | No | "total", "private", "manufacturing", "retail", "healthcare", "all", etc. |
Example: Get healthcare employment
startYear: "2020"
endYear: "2024"
sector: "healthcare"
Common Series IDs
| Series ID | Description |
|---|---|
| LNS14000000 | Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted) |
| LNS11000000 | Civilian Labor Force |
| CES0000000001 | Total Nonfarm Employment |
| CUUR0000SA0 | CPI - All Urban Consumers |
| CUUR0000SAF1 | CPI - Food |
| CUUR0000SAH1 | CPI - Housing |
| CUUR0000SAM | CPI - Medical Care |
Rate Limits
- Without API key: 25 requests/day, 10 years of data
- With API key: 500 requests/day, 20 years of data
Documentation
- API Documentation: https://www.bls.gov/developers/
- Series ID Finder: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost
Tools (5)
queryFetch BLS time series data for up to 50 series.series_guideShow common BLS series IDs and how to construct them.get_cpiShortcut for Consumer Price Index (inflation) data.get_unemploymentShortcut for national unemployment rate.get_employmentShortcut for employment by major industry sector.Environment Variables
BLS_API_KEYAPI key from https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/ for higher rate limitsConfiguration
claude_desktop_config.json
{
"bls": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/bls/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"BLS_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}Try it
→Use get_unemployment to fetch national unemployment rate from 2020 to 2024.
→Query seriesIds ['LNS14000000', 'CUUR0000SA0'] from startYear 2020 to endYear 2024.
→Get CPI data for items 'food,housing' from 2020 to 2024 using get_cpi.
→Show series guide for category 'CPI'.
→Use get_employment for sector 'healthcare' from 2020 to 2024.