# BLS Economic / Labor Statistics Fetcher (`brunofin/bls-economic-data-fetcher`) Actor

Fetch official US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) time-series data — CPI, unemployment rate, wages, employment cost index, and more. Returns series ID, year, period, period name, value, and footnotes via the official BLS public API (keyless for single series).

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brunofin/bls-economic-data-fetcher.md
- **Developed by:** [Bruno Finger](https://apify.com/brunofin) (community)
- **Categories:** Business
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## BLS Economic / Labor Statistics Fetcher

Fetches official US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) time-series data — CPI, unemployment rate, wages, employment cost index, and more. Returns series ID, year, period, period name, value, and footnotes via the official BLS public API (keyless for single series).

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `seriesId` | string | **yes** | — | The BLS time series ID (e.g., `CUSR0000SA0` for CPI, `LNS14000000` for unemployment rate, `CIU101009003` for wages, `CES0500000003` for employment). See [bls.gov/developers](https://www.bls.gov/developers/) for full list. |
| `startYear` | string | no | — | Optional start year for the time series range (e.g., `2020`). If omitted, returns most recent data. |
| `endYear` | string | no | — | Optional end year for the time series range (e.g., `2026`). If omitted, returns most recent data. |
| `registrationKey` | string | no | `""` | Optional BLS API registration key for higher rate limits and multi-series requests. Free registration at [bls.gov/developers/api\_registration.htm](https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_registration.htm). Not required for single-series queries (keyless allows 60 calls/10 min/IP). |

### Output

Each dataset item contains: `seriesId`, `year`, `period`, `periodName`, `value`, `footnotes`.

### Usage

Fetch CPI (Consumer Price Index) for all available years:

```json
{
  "seriesId": "CUSR0000SA0"
}
```

Fetch unemployment rate for a specific range:

```json
{
  "seriesId": "LNS14000000",
  "startYear": "2020",
  "endYear": "2026"
}
```

Fetch wages with a registration key:

```json
{
  "seriesId": "CIU101009003",
  "registrationKey": "your_bls_key_here"
}
```

### Common Series IDs

| Series ID | Description |
|---|---|
| `CUSR0000SA0` | CPI-U: All items in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, seasonally adjusted |
| `LNS14000000` | Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted |
| `CIU101009003` | Employment Cost Index: Total compensation, private industry workers |
| `CES0500000003` | All employees, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted |
| `CES3000000001` | Average weekly hours, manufacturing, seasonally adjusted |

### Rate Limits

- **Keyless:** 60 requests per 10 minutes per IP (single series only)
- **With registration key:** Higher limits, multi-series support (free registration)

### Pricing

PAY\_PER\_EVENT — $0.001 per data point returned (`series-query-result`). One event per GB of memory, minimum one per run.

### Related actors

- [NWS Weather Alerts Fetcher](https://apify.com/brunofin/nws-weather-alerts-fetcher) — US weather alerts and watches
- [World Bank Indicator Data](https://apify.com/brunofin/world-bank-indicator-data) — Country development indicators
- [Open-Meteo Weather](https://apify.com/brunofin/open-meteo-weather) — Weather forecasts

# Actor input Schema

## `seriesId` (type: `string`):

The BLS time series ID (e.g., 'CUSR0000SA0' for CPI, 'LNS14000000' for unemployment rate, 'CIU101009003' for wages, 'CES0500000003' for employment). See bls.gov/developers for full list.

## `startYear` (type: `string`):

Optional start year for the time series range (e.g., '2020'). If omitted, returns most recent data.

## `endYear` (type: `string`):

Optional end year for the time series range (e.g., '2026'). If omitted, returns most recent data.

## `registrationKey` (type: `string`):

Optional BLS API registration key for higher rate limits and multi-series requests. Free registration at bls.gov/developers/api\_registration.htm. Not required for single-series queries (keyless allows 60 calls/10 min/IP).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "registrationKey": ""
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brunofin/bls-economic-data-fetcher").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brunofin/bls-economic-data-fetcher").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call brunofin/bls-economic-data-fetcher --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,brunofin/bls-economic-data-fetcher"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/rD4cN0dyHHhkVeTcZ/builds/guWFoaZ0qSNXhXbpu/openapi.json