Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) API - Complete Series Reference

API Overview

Endpoint:

v1: https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred (used when API key is provided)
v2: https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/v2 (used when no API key)

Description: Provides access to economic time series data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Includes GDP, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, employment, and hundreds of other economic indicators.

API Versions:

v1: Used automatically when API key is provided (better API key support)
v2: Used automatically when no API key (works without authentication)

Note: The MCP server automatically selects the appropriate version based on whether an API key is configured.

Update Frequency: Varies by series (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual)

Use Cases for Business Initiative:

Economic indicators for business planning
GDP and economic growth trends
Unemployment and labor market data
Interest rates and monetary policy
Inflation and price indexes
Industry-specific economic data
Regional economic indicators

Common Series IDs

National Accounts (GDP & Economic Growth)

GDP

Series ID: GDP
Description: Gross Domestic Product (billions of dollars, quarterly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Overall economic growth, business cycle analysis
Frequency: Quarterly

GDPC1

Series ID: GDPC1
Description: Real Gross Domestic Product (billions of chained 2017 dollars, quarterly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Real economic growth (adjusted for inflation)

GDPPOT

Series ID: GDPPOT
Description: Real Potential GDP (billions of chained 2017 dollars, quarterly)
Use Case: Economic capacity, output gap analysis

Employment & Labor Market

UNRATE

Series ID: UNRATE
Description: Unemployment Rate (percent, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Labor market conditions, business hiring environment
Frequency: Monthly

PAYEMS

Series ID: PAYEMS
Description: All Employees, Total Nonfarm (thousands, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Total employment trends

U6RATE

Series ID: U6RATE
Description: Total Unemployed, Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force, Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons (percent, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Broader unemployment measure (includes underemployed)

CIVPART

Series ID: CIVPART
Description: Labor Force Participation Rate (percent, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Labor force engagement

Interest Rates & Monetary Policy

FEDFUNDS

Series ID: FEDFUNDS
Description: Effective Federal Funds Rate (percent, monthly)
Use Case: Monetary policy, borrowing costs, business financing
Frequency: Monthly

GS10

Series ID: GS10
Description: 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate (percent, monthly)
Use Case: Long-term interest rates, mortgage rates, investment returns

GS30

Series ID: GS30
Description: 30-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate (percent, monthly)
Use Case: Long-term mortgage rates, long-term investment rates

PRIME

Series ID: PRIME
Description: Bank Prime Loan Rate (percent, monthly)
Use Case: Business loan rates, commercial lending

Inflation & Prices

CPIAUCSL

Series ID: CPIAUCSL
Description: Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items (index 1982-84=100, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Consumer inflation, cost of living
Frequency: Monthly

CPILFESL

Series ID: CPILFESL
Description: Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food & Energy (index 1982-84=100, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Core inflation (excludes volatile food and energy)

PCEPI

Series ID: PCEPI
Description: Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index (index 2017=100, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Alternative inflation measure (Fed’s preferred measure)

Business & Production

INDPRO

Series ID: INDPRO
Description: Industrial Production Index (index 2017=100, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Manufacturing and industrial activity
Frequency: Monthly

TCU

Series ID: TCU
Description: Capacity Utilization: Total Industry (percent of capacity, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Manufacturing capacity utilization

BUSINV

Series ID: BUSINV
Description: Total Business Inventories (millions of dollars, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Inventory levels, business investment

Consumer & Spending

PCE

Series ID: PCE
Description: Personal Consumption Expenditures (billions of dollars, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Consumer spending trends

DSPIC96

Series ID: DSPIC96
Description: Real Disposable Personal Income (billions of chained 2017 dollars, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Consumer purchasing power

Housing

HOUST

Series ID: HOUST
Description: Housing Starts: Total New Privately Owned (thousands of units, monthly, seasonally adjusted)
Use Case: Housing market activity, construction industry

MSPUS

Series ID: MSPUS
Description: Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (dollars, quarterly)
Use Case: Housing prices, real estate market

How to Find Series IDs

Method 1: FRED Website Search

URL: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
Search by keyword (e.g., “unemployment”, “GDP”, “interest rate”)
Click on a series to see its ID in the URL or metadata

Method 2: FRED API Search

Use the search_fred_series tool
Search by text to find relevant series

Method 3: Category Browse

URL: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/categories
Browse by category to find related series
Use fetch_fred_category_series to get all series in a category

Method 4: Popular Series

URL: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/tags/series
Browse popular/tagged series

Data Frequency Options

d: Daily
w: Weekly
bw: Biweekly
m: Monthly
q: Quarterly
sa: Semiannual
a: Annual
wef: Weekly ending Friday
weth: Weekly ending Thursday
wew: Weekly ending Wednesday
wetu: Weekly ending Tuesday
wem: Weekly ending Monday
wesu: Weekly ending Sunday
besw: Biweekly ending Sunday
bwew: Biweekly ending Wednesday

Data Transformation Units

lin: Levels (no transformation)
chg: Change
ch1: Change from year ago
pch: Percent change
pc1: Percent change from year ago
pca: Compounded annual rate of change
cch: Continuously compounded rate of change
cca: Continuously compounded annual rate of change
log: Natural log

Example API Calls

Example 1: GDP Data (2020-2023)

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations
Parameters:
  series_id: GDP
  observation_start: 2020-01-01
  observation_end: 2023-12-31
  frequency: q
  units: lin
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Example 2: Unemployment Rate (Last 5 Years)

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations
Parameters:
  series_id: UNRATE
  observation_start: 2019-01-01
  frequency: m
  units: lin
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Example 3: Federal Funds Rate (Interest Rates)

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations
Parameters:
  series_id: FEDFUNDS
  observation_start: 2020-01-01
  observation_end: 2023-12-31
  frequency: m
  units: lin
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Example 4: Consumer Price Index (Inflation)

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations
Parameters:
  series_id: CPIAUCSL
  observation_start: 2020-01-01
  observation_end: 2023-12-31
  frequency: m
  units: pch
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Example 5: Get Series Information

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series
Parameters:
  series_id: GDP
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Example 6: Search for Series

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/search
Parameters:
  search_text: small business
  limit: 50
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Example 7: Category Series (Employment)

GET https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/category/series
Parameters:
  category_id: 10
  limit: 100
  api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
  file_type: json

Common Series Combinations for Business Initiative

Economic Health Dashboard

Series IDs: GDP, UNRATE, FEDFUNDS, CPIAUCSL
Use: Overall economic conditions for business planning

Labor Market Analysis

Series IDs: UNRATE, PAYEMS, U6RATE, CIVPART
Use: Hiring environment, labor market tightness

Interest Rate Analysis

Series IDs: FEDFUNDS, GS10, GS30, PRIME
Use: Borrowing costs, financing decisions

Inflation Analysis

Series IDs: CPIAUCSL, CPILFESL, PCEPI
Use: Cost trends, pricing strategies

Industry-Specific

Search: "manufacturing", "retail", "services"
Use: Industry-specific economic indicators

API Key Configuration

Getting an API Key

Register at: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html
API key format: 32-character lowercase alphanumeric string
Add to .env file: FRED_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

API Version Behavior

With API Key: Automatically uses v1 endpoint (/fred/)
Without API Key: Automatically uses v2 endpoint (/fred/v2/)
The MCP server handles version selection automatically

Rate Limits

With API Key: 120 requests per minute (more reliable)
Without API Key: 120 requests per minute (may have restrictions)

Data Limitations & Notes

Rate Limits:
- 120 requests per minute (with or without API key)
- API key provides more reliable access
Data Availability: Not all series available for all time periods
Data Lag: Economic data typically available 1-2 months after reference period
Seasonal Adjustment: Many series available both adjusted and unadjusted
Revision Policy: Economic data may be revised; use ALFRED for historical vintages
Frequency Conversion: Can aggregate to different frequencies (daily to monthly, etc.)
API Version: v1 endpoint used with API keys, v2 used without keys (automatic)

MCP Tool Usage

Fetch Series Observations

Tool Name: fetch_fred_series

Description: Fetch time series observations for economic indicators.

Example Call:

{
  "series_id": "GDP",
  "start_date": "2020-01-01",
  "end_date": "2023-12-31",
  "frequency": "q",
  "units": "lin"
}

Response: Returns observations array with date and value pairs.

Get Series Information

Tool Name: fetch_fred_series_info

Description: Get metadata about a specific series (title, description, frequency, units, etc.).

Example Call:

{
  "series_id": "UNRATE"
}

Response: Returns series metadata including title, description, frequency, units, source, etc.

Search for Series

Tool Name: search_fred_series

Description: Search for economic series by text (searches titles, descriptions, etc.).

Example Call:

{
  "search_text": "unemployment",
  "limit": 50
}

Response: Returns array of matching series with IDs and titles.

Get Category Series

Tool Name: fetch_fred_category_series

Description: Get all series in a specific category (e.g., Employment, GDP, Prices).

Example Call:

{
  "category_id": 10,
  "limit": 100
}

Response: Returns array of series IDs in the specified category.

Popular Series for Business Analysis

Macroeconomic Indicators

GDP - Gross Domestic Product
UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Rate
CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index

Business Conditions

INDPRO - Industrial Production
TCU - Capacity Utilization
BUSINV - Business Inventories
PAYEMS - Total Nonfarm Employment

Financial Markets

GS10 - 10-Year Treasury Rate
GS30 - 30-Year Treasury Rate
PRIME - Prime Loan Rate
DEXUSEU - U.S. / Euro Foreign Exchange Rate

Regional Data

Search by state (e.g., “California GDP”, “Texas unemployment”)
State-specific series IDs available

Response Format

Series Observations Response

{
  "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
  "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
  "observation_start": "2020-01-01",
  "observation_end": "2023-12-31",
  "units": "Billions of Dollars",
  "output_type": 1,
  "file_type": "json",
  "order_by": "observation_date",
  "sort_order": "asc",
  "count": 16,
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 100000,
  "observations": [
    {
      "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
      "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
      "date": "2020-01-01",
      "value": "21427.2"
    }
  ]
}

Series Info Response

{
  "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
  "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
  "seriess": [
    {
      "id": "GDP",
      "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
      "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
      "title": "Gross Domestic Product",
      "observation_start": "1947-01-01",
      "observation_end": "2023-10-01",
      "frequency": "Quarterly",
      "frequency_short": "Q",
      "units": "Billions of Dollars",
      "units_short": "Bil. of $",
      "seasonal_adjustment": "Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate",
      "seasonal_adjustment_short": "SAAR",
      "last_updated": "2024-01-25 07:53:01-06",
      "popularity": 100,
      "notes": "BEA Account Code: A191RC"
    }
  ]
}

References

Official Documentation: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/
FRED Website: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
API Key Registration: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html
Series Search: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
Categories: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/categories
API v1 Documentation: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/
API v2 Documentation: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) API - Complete Series Reference

API Overview

Common Series IDs

National Accounts (GDP & Economic Growth)

GDP

GDPC1

GDPPOT

Employment & Labor Market

UNRATE

PAYEMS

U6RATE

CIVPART

Interest Rates & Monetary Policy

FEDFUNDS

GS10

GS30

PRIME

Inflation & Prices

CPIAUCSL

CPILFESL

PCEPI

Business & Production

INDPRO

TCU

BUSINV

Consumer & Spending

PCE

DSPIC96

Housing

HOUST

MSPUS

How to Find Series IDs

Method 1: FRED Website Search

Method 2: FRED API Search

Method 3: Category Browse

Method 4: Popular Series

Common Category IDs

Data Frequency Options

Data Transformation Units

Example API Calls

Example 1: GDP Data (2020-2023)

Example 2: Unemployment Rate (Last 5 Years)

Example 3: Federal Funds Rate (Interest Rates)

Example 4: Consumer Price Index (Inflation)

Example 5: Get Series Information

Example 6: Search for Series

Example 7: Category Series (Employment)

Common Series Combinations for Business Initiative

Economic Health Dashboard

Labor Market Analysis

Interest Rate Analysis

Inflation Analysis

Industry-Specific

API Key Configuration

Getting an API Key

API Version Behavior

Rate Limits

Data Limitations & Notes

MCP Tool Usage

Fetch Series Observations

Get Series Information

Search for Series

Get Category Series

Popular Series for Business Analysis

Macroeconomic Indicators

Business Conditions

Financial Markets

Regional Data

Response Format

Series Observations Response

Series Info Response

References