Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) API - Complete Series ID Reference

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) API - Complete Series ID Reference

API Overview

Endpoint: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/ (v2.0) or https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v1/timeseries/data/ (v1.0)

Description: Provides access to economic data from all BLS programs including employment, wages, prices, and productivity statistics.

API Versions:

  • v2.0: Requires registration, higher rate limits, additional features (calculations, annual averages, series descriptions)
  • v1.0: No registration required, limited features, lower rate limits

Update Frequency: Varies by program (monthly, quarterly, annual)

Use Cases for Business Initiative:

  • Wage and salary benchmarking
  • Industry employment trends
  • Price inflation analysis
  • Labor market conditions
  • Compensation planning
  • Economic indicators

Series ID Structure

BLS series IDs are alphanumeric codes that identify specific data series. The structure varies by program:

General Format

Most series IDs follow a pattern: [SURVEY][GEOGRAPHY][INDUSTRY/OCCUPATION][MEASURE][ADJUSTMENT]

Example: CES0000000001

  • CES - Survey code (Current Employment Statistics)
  • 0000000001 - Series identifier

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)

Series ID Format

OEUN[AREA][INDUSTRY][OCCUPATION][DATA_TYPE]

Components:

  • OEUN - OES survey prefix
  • AREA - Geographic area code
  • INDUSTRY - NAICS industry code
  • OCCUPATION - SOC occupation code
  • DATA_TYPE - Type of data (employment, wage, etc.)

Common OES Series IDs

National Level

  • OEUN000000000000000011101 - All occupations, all industries, employment
  • OEUN000000000000000011102 - All occupations, all industries, mean hourly wage
  • OEUN000000000000000011103 - All occupations, all industries, annual mean wage

By Occupation

  • OEUN000000000000000011101 - All occupations
  • OEUN000000000000000013011 - Management occupations
  • OEUN000000000000000015111 - Business and financial operations occupations
  • OEUN000000000000000017111 - Computer and mathematical occupations
  • OEUN000000000000000019111 - Architecture and engineering occupations

By Industry

  • OEUN000000000054000011101 - All occupations, Professional Services (NAICS 54)
  • OEUN000000000062000011101 - All occupations, Health Care (NAICS 62)
  • OEUN000000000072000011101 - All occupations, Accommodation and Food Services (NAICS 72)

Use Case: Wage benchmarking, occupation analysis, industry compensation

Current Employment Statistics (CES)

Series ID Format

CES[ADJUSTMENT][INDUSTRY][DATA_TYPE]

Components:

  • CES - CES survey prefix
  • ADJUSTMENT - Seasonal adjustment (000 = not adjusted, 300 = seasonally adjusted)
  • INDUSTRY - Industry code
  • DATA_TYPE - Type of data (employment, hours, earnings)

Common CES Series IDs

Total Nonfarm Employment

  • CES0000000001 - Total nonfarm employment (not seasonally adjusted)
  • CES3000000001 - Total nonfarm employment (seasonally adjusted)

By Industry Sector

  • CES0000000001 - Total nonfarm
  • CES1011330001 - Total private
  • CES9091000001 - Government
  • CES2023610001 - Construction
  • CES3133610001 - Manufacturing
  • CES4142361001 - Trade, transportation, and utilities
  • CES5051920001 - Information
  • CES6063610001 - Financial activities
  • CES7071610001 - Professional and business services
  • CES8081610001 - Education and health services
  • CES9092160001 - Leisure and hospitality
  • CES9093160001 - Other services

Employment by Detailed Industry

  • CES5054200001 - Professional and technical services
  • CES6562000001 - Health care and social assistance
  • CES7072000001 - Accommodation
  • CES7073000001 - Food services and drinking places

Hours and Earnings

  • CES0000000003 - Average weekly hours (all employees)
  • CES0000000004 - Average hourly earnings (all employees)
  • CES0000000005 - Average weekly earnings (all employees)

Use Case: Industry employment trends, labor market analysis

Producer Price Index (PPI)

Series ID Format

[SURVEY][COMMODITY][INDUSTRY][DATA_TYPE]

Components:

  • Survey prefix (varies)
  • Commodity code
  • Industry code
  • Data type

Common PPI Series IDs

All Commodities

  • PCU - Producer Price Index for all commodities
  • PCU00000000 - All commodities

By Industry

  • PCU541000541000 - Professional, scientific, and technical services
  • PCU621000621000 - Ambulatory health care services
  • PCU722000722000 - Food services and drinking places

By Commodity

  • PCU311111311111 - Bread and bakery product manufacturing
  • PCU325110325110 - Basic chemical manufacturing

Use Case: Business cost analysis, inflation tracking, pricing strategies

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Series ID Format

CUUR[AREA][ITEM][BASE_PERIOD]

Components:

  • CUUR - CPI urban consumers prefix
  • AREA - Geographic area
  • ITEM - Item code
  • BASE_PERIOD - Base period code

Common CPI Series IDs

  • CUUR0000SA0 - All items, U.S. city average
  • CUUR0000SA0L1E - All items less food and energy
  • CUUR0000SETB01 - Energy
  • CUUR0000SAF1 - Food

Note: CPI may require separate API access or different endpoints.

Use Case: Consumer price inflation, cost of living

How to Find Series IDs

Method 1: BLS Series ID Finder

  • URL: https://www.bls.gov/help/hlpforma.htm
  • Search by survey, geography, industry, or occupation
  • Provides series ID format and examples

Method 2: BLS Data Finder

  • URL: https://www.bls.gov/data/
  • Browse by survey program
  • Download data files to see series IDs

Method 3: BLS API Survey Endpoints (v2.0)

  • All Surveys: GET https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/surveys/
  • Single Survey: GET https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/surveys/{survey_abbreviation}
  • Returns available series and descriptions
  • Endpoint: GET https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/popular/
  • Returns commonly requested series IDs
  • URL: https://www.bls.gov/data/
  • Interactive search tool
  • Export results to see series IDs

API Request Structure

Request Format (POST)

{
  "seriesid": ["CES0000000001", "CES3000000001"],
  "startyear": "2020",
  "endyear": "2023",
  "registrationkey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Response Structure

{
  "status": "REQUEST_SUCCEEDED",
  "Results": {
    "series": [
      {
        "seriesID": "CES0000000001",
        "data": [
          {
            "year": "2023",
            "period": "M12",
            "periodName": "December",
            "value": "157105",
            "footnotes": [{}]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Common Series ID Patterns

OES Patterns

  • All occupations, all industries: OEUN000000000000000011101
  • Specific occupation, all industries: OEUN00000000000000[SOC]11101
  • All occupations, specific industry: OEUN000000000[NAICS]000011101
  • Specific occupation, specific industry: OEUN000000000[NAICS]00[SOC]11101

CES Patterns

  • Total nonfarm (not adjusted): CES0000000001
  • Total nonfarm (adjusted): CES3000000001
  • Industry employment: CES[INDUSTRY_CODE]000001
  • Hours: CES[INDUSTRY_CODE]000003
  • Earnings: CES[INDUSTRY_CODE]000004

PPI Patterns

  • All commodities: PCU00000000
  • Industry: PCU[NAICS][NAICS]000
  • Commodity: PCU[COMMODITY_CODE]

Example API Calls

Example 1: Total Nonfarm Employment (2020-2023)

POST https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
{
  "seriesid": ["CES0000000001"],
  "startyear": "2020",
  "endyear": "2023",
  "registrationkey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Example 2: Professional Services Employment (2020-2023)

POST https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
{
  "seriesid": ["CES5054200001"],
  "startyear": "2020",
  "endyear": "2023",
  "registrationkey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Example 3: OES - All Occupations, Professional Services (2023)

POST https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
{
  "seriesid": ["OEUN000000000054000011101"],
  "startyear": "2023",
  "endyear": "2023",
  "registrationkey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Example 4: PPI - Professional Services (2020-2023)

POST https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
{
  "seriesid": ["PCU541000541000"],
  "startyear": "2020",
  "endyear": "2023",
  "registrationkey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Example 5: Multiple Series (Employment and Wages)

POST https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/
{
  "seriesid": [
    "CES0000000001",
    "CES0000000004",
    "CES5054200001"
  ],
  "startyear": "2023",
  "endyear": "2023",
  "registrationkey": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

Common Series ID Combinations for Business Initiative

Wage Benchmarking

Series IDs: OES series for specific occupation/industry
Use: Compare wages across industries, occupations, or regions
Example: OEUN000000000054000013011 (Management, Professional Services)

Series IDs: CES industry codes
Use: Track employment growth/decline by industry
Example: CES5054200001 (Professional and Technical Services)

Business Cost Analysis

Series IDs: PPI industry codes
Use: Track input costs, pricing trends
Example: PCU541000541000 (Professional Services PPI)

Labor Market Analysis

Series IDs: CES total employment, hours, earnings
Use: Overall labor market health
Example: CES0000000001, CES0000000003, CES0000000004

Data Limitations & Notes

  1. Rate Limits:
    • v1.0: 25 requests per day
    • v2.0: 500 requests per day (with API key)

  2. Series Availability: Not all series available for all time periods

  3. Data Lag: Data typically available 1-2 months after reference period

  4. Seasonal Adjustment: Some series available both adjusted and unadjusted

  5. Geographic Detail: Varies by survey (national, state, metro area)

  6. Industry Detail: Varies by survey (sector, 3-digit, 4-digit NAICS)

MCP Tool Usage

OES Tool

Tool Name: fetch_bls_oes_data

Example Call:

{
  "series_ids": ["OEUN000000000054000011101"],
  "start_year": 2023,
  "end_year": 2023
}

CES Tool

Tool Name: fetch_bls_ces_data

Example Call:

{
  "series_ids": ["CES0000000001", "CES5054200001"],
  "start_year": 2020,
  "end_year": 2023
}

PPI Tool

Tool Name: fetch_bls_ppi_data

Example Call:

{
  "series_ids": ["PCU541000541000"],
  "start_year": 2020,
  "end_year": 2023
}

References

  • Official Documentation: https://www.bls.gov/developers/
  • API User Guide: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_signature.htm
  • Series ID Finder: https://www.bls.gov/help/hlpforma.htm
  • Data Finder: https://www.bls.gov/data/
  • API Registration: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_registration.htm
  • FAQ: https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_faqs.htm