BLS Economic Data Series API

Get BLS CPI, unemployment, payrolls, wages and other series as JSON/CSV. Pick a preset or series IDs and years. Public data, no login, no API key.

What it does

Returns U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics time-series data points (CPI, PPI, unemployment, payrolls, earnings, job openings, productivity, employment cost) as one flat row per series and period, newest first. Built for economists and analysts, finance and pricing teams indexing contracts to CPI, and journalists.

What you get

Field	Type	Example
series_id	string	"CES0000000001"
series_label	string	"All employees, total nonfarm, thousands (seasonally adju...
year	number	2026
period	string	"M09"
period_name	string	"September"
period_start	date (YYYY-MM-DD)	"2026-09-01"
value	string	"159044"
latest	boolean	true
footnotes	string	"preliminary"
retrieved_at	string	"2026-10-18T04:48:51.305Z"
retrieved_date	date (YYYY-MM-DD)	"2026-10-18"
source_url	string	"https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001"
source	string	"BLS Public Data API v1 (api.bls.gov)"
bls_notice	string	"BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived fr...

Values are passed through exactly as published by BLS (as text). Every row carries the date and time it was retrieved (UTC). Series labels for presets are our own short descriptions.

How to use

1. Leave the defaults to get the newest 50 data points for 10 headline series (last year and this year), or pick another set, years, or enter your own series IDs under Advanced.
2. Click Run.
3. Export the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, or read it through the Apify API.

Input example

{
  "preset": "HEADLINE",
  "maxResults": 50
}

Output example

Two records from a real run on 2026-10-17 (PT) with the default input:

[
 {
  "series_id": "CES0000000001",
  "series_label": "All employees, total nonfarm, thousands (seasonally adjusted)",
  "year": 2026,
  "period": "M09",
  "period_name": "September",
  "period_start": "2026-09-01",
  "value": "159044",
  "latest": true,
  "footnotes": "preliminary",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-10-18T04:48:51.305Z",
  "retrieved_date": "2026-10-18",
  "source_url": "https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001",
  "source": "BLS Public Data API v1 (api.bls.gov)",
  "bls_notice": "BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov."
 },
 {
  "series_id": "CES0500000003",
  "series_label": "Average hourly earnings, total private, USD (seasonally adjusted)",
  "year": 2026,
  "period": "M09",
  "period_name": "September",
  "period_start": "2026-09-01",
  "value": "37.81",
  "latest": true,
  "footnotes": "preliminary",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-10-18T04:48:51.305Z",
  "retrieved_date": "2026-10-18",
  "source_url": "https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000003",
  "source": "BLS Public Data API v1 (api.bls.gov)",
  "bls_notice": "BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov."
 }
]

Pricing (pay-per-event)

• Result: $2.00 per 1,000 results ($0.002 for each data point saved to the dataset).
• No start fee. Runs that save nothing are not charged for results.
• Estimate: the default run (50 data points) costs about $0.10 in result fees.

Limits

• Uses the keyless BLS API (version 1): one query per run, up to 25 series and 10 years. BLS allows 25 keyless queries per day per IP address, so a run can be refused when that daily limit is reached; the run then stops with a clear message.
• BLS publishes most monthly series on a fixed release calendar; the newest month can be preliminary (see footnotes).
• If the source refuses access (HTTP 403 or a block page), the run stops with a clear message. It never changes its identity, uses proxies, or retries from other IP addresses.

Data source & legality note

This actor reads public data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (https://www.bls.gov) via its public API. It does not log in, bypass access controls, or collect personal data; person/contact fields are dropped at parse time. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Output is provided as-is, without warranty; it may be incomplete or delayed, so verify against the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) before relying on it. Not legal, medical, or safety advice. You are responsible for how you use the output and for complying with applicable laws and the source's terms.

BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.

Cite the retrieval date when you use this data (see retrieved_date on each row). The BLS logo is not used.

Support

birds.nest.apify@gmail.com, or open an issue in the Issues tab.