# BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) MCP Server

Access U.S. labor market data including employment, unemployment, wages, inflation (CPI), and industry statistics.

## Data Available

- **Employment/Unemployment** - National and state-level employment statistics
- **Consumer Price Index (CPI)** - Inflation data by category
- **Wages** - Average hourly/weekly earnings by industry
- **Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)** - Employer-level data
- **Occupational Employment** - Employment and wages by occupation

## Setup

1. Get a free API key at: https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/
2. Add to your MCP config:

```json
{
  "bls": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["/path/to/bls/dist/index.js"],
    "env": {
      "BLS_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
    }
  }
}
```

## Tools

### `query`
Fetch BLS time series data for up to 50 series.

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| seriesIds | Yes | Array of series IDs (max 50) |
| startYear | Yes | Start year (e.g., "2020") |
| endYear | Yes | End year (e.g., "2024") |
| calculations | No | Include percent changes (default: false) |
| annualAverage | No | Include annual averages (default: false) |

**Example:** Get unemployment rate and CPI
```
seriesIds: ["LNS14000000", "CUUR0000SA0"]
startYear: "2020"
endYear: "2024"
```

### `series_guide`
Show common BLS series IDs and how to construct them.

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| category | No | "CPI", "UNEMPLOYMENT", "EMPLOYMENT", "QCEW", or "ALL" |

### `get_cpi`
Shortcut for Consumer Price Index (inflation) data.

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| startYear | Yes | Start year |
| endYear | Yes | End year |
| items | No | "all", "food", "housing", "medical", "transport", or comma-separated |

**Example:** Get CPI for food and housing
```
startYear: "2020"
endYear: "2024"
items: "food,housing"
```

### `get_unemployment`
Shortcut for national unemployment rate.

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| startYear | Yes | Start year |
| endYear | Yes | End year |

### `get_employment`
Shortcut for employment by major industry sector.

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| startYear | Yes | Start year |
| endYear | Yes | End year |
| sector | No | "total", "private", "manufacturing", "retail", "healthcare", "all", etc. |

**Example:** Get healthcare employment
```
startYear: "2020"
endYear: "2024"
sector: "healthcare"
```

## Common Series IDs

| Series ID | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| LNS14000000 | Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted) |
| LNS11000000 | Civilian Labor Force |
| CES0000000001 | Total Nonfarm Employment |
| CUUR0000SA0 | CPI - All Urban Consumers |
| CUUR0000SAF1 | CPI - Food |
| CUUR0000SAH1 | CPI - Housing |
| CUUR0000SAM | CPI - Medical Care |

## Rate Limits

- Without API key: 25 requests/day, 10 years of data
- With API key: 500 requests/day, 20 years of data

## Documentation

- API Documentation: https://www.bls.gov/developers/
- Series ID Finder: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost