canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/bls.gov/bls

# Bls Gov Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Data API

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Data API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The BLS Public Data API serves official United States labour statistics. An agent can retrieve observations for one or more time series, read a single series or just its latest value, list the available surveys, and pull the most popular series. It covers employment, wages, inflation, and productivity figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

## For AI agents

Query United States labour statistics from the BLS Public Data API: time series, latest values, surveys, and popular series. Secured with a registration key.

## Scope

Does not handle data visualization or any write operations - use it for reading Bureau of Labor Statistics data only.

## Capabilities

- Retrieve data for one or more time series
- Retrieve a single time series or just its latest value
- List the available BLS surveys
- Retrieve the most popular time series

## Use cases

### Pull labour statistics

Bring official United States labour figures into an agent workflow. The agent requests the observations for one or more time series and reads them back as structured data.

Example prompt: Call POST `/timeseries/data`/ with the series ids to retrieve

### Track a single indicator

Watch one indicator closely. The agent reads a single series or just its latest observation so it can report the current figure without pulling the full history each time.

Example prompt: Call GET `/timeseries/data/{seriesId}/latest` for the indicator

### Discover available data

Find out what BLS publishes before querying it. The agent lists the surveys and reviews the most popular series to pick the right data to pull.

Example prompt: Call GET /surveys, then GET `/timeseries/popular` to choose a series

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| POST | `/timeseries/data/` | Retrieve data for one or more time series |
| GET | `/timeseries/data/{seriesId}` | Retrieve data for a single time series |
| GET | `/timeseries/data/{seriesId}/latest` | Retrieve the latest observation for a time series |
| GET | `/timeseries/popular` | Retrieve popular time series |
| GET | `/surveys` | List available BLS surveys |

## Key resources

- **Time Series** — Observations for a BLS series addressed by its series id
- **Surveys** — The surveys BLS publishes data for
- **Popular Series** — The most frequently requested BLS series

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 46 / 100
- **Maturity:** Foundational
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 74 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 60 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 45 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 15 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 75 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/bls.gov/bls/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the BLS Public Data API by hand means registering for a key, pointing at the api.bls.gov host, and shaping the time-series requests yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the BLS Public Data API from the Jentic API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** The BLS Public Data API is read-only, so nothing can be mutated. You choose which of the five operations your agent may call, and because the series id sits in the URL path (`/timeseries/data/{seriesId}`), a rule can pin the agent to one series and nothing else.
- **Credential handling:** Your BLS registration key, passed as the registrationkey query parameter, is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'get the latest value for a BLS series' or 'list BLS surveys', and Jentic returns the matching operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference.

## Related APIs

- **US Census Bureau** — Alternative United States statistics API
- **Australian Bureau of Statistics** — Alternative national statistics API
- **Alpha Vantage** — Complementary economic and market data API

## FAQ

### Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for the BLS Public Data API?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the Public Data API but does not ship a machine-readable OpenAPI description for it. Jentic wrote and validated one so agents can discover and call the service. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.

### What authentication does the BLS Public Data API use?

The BLS Public Data API uses a registration key supplied as the registrationkey query parameter. Through Jentic, that key is stored encrypted in your Jentic One instance and injected at execution time, so the raw key never enters the agent context.

### What can an agent do with the BLS Public Data API?

It can retrieve observations for one or more time series, read a single series or its latest value, list the available surveys, and pull the most popular series. Responses are structured so an agent can parse and act on them directly.

### What are the rate limits for the BLS Public Data API?

Rate limits are not specified in the OpenAPI spec. Check the Bureau of Labor Statistics documentation for current limits. Through Jentic, retries are handled in the execution layer.

### How many endpoints does the BLS Public Data API have?

The BLS Public Data API exposes 5 endpoints covering time series, surveys, and popular series.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the BLS Public Data API?

Yes. Jentic One is self-hosted by you, so your own rules decide which BLS operations your agent may call. The service is read-only, so nothing can be mutated, and because the series id sits in the URL path, such as `/timeseries/data/{seriesId}`, a rule can pin the agent to a single series and nothing else.