Context

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor representatives. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Labor_Statistics

Content

Bureau of Labor Statistics including CPI (inflation), employment, unemployment, and wage data.

Update Frequency: Monthly

Querying BigQuery Tables

Fork this kernel to get started.

Acknowledgements

https://bigquery.cloud.google.com/dataset/bigquery-public-data:bls

https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/public-data/bureau-of-labor-statistics

Dataset Source: http://www.bls.gov/data/

This dataset is publicly available for anyone to use under the following terms provided by the Dataset Source - http://www.data.gov/privacy-policy#data_policy - and is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, express or implied, from Google. Google disclaims all liability for any damages, direct or indirect, resulting from the use of the dataset.

Banner Photo by Clark Young from Unsplash.

Inspiration

What is the average annual inflation across all US Cities? What was the monthly unemployment rate (U3) in 2016? What are the top 10 hourly-waged types of work in Pittsburgh, PA for 2016?

This layer contains the latest 14 months of unemployment statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The data is offered at the nationwide, state, and county geography levels. Puerto Rico is included. These are not seasonally adjusted values. The layer is updated monthly with the newest unemployment statistics available from BLS. There are attributes in the layer that specify which month is associated to each statistic. Most current month: August 2025 (preliminary values at the state and county level) The attributes included for each month are:Unemployment rate (%)Count of unemployed populationCount of employed population in the labor forceCount of people in the labor force Data obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data downloaded: October 1, 2025Local Area Unemployment Statistics table download: https://www.bls.gov/lau/#tablesLocal Area Unemployment FTP downloads:State and CountyNation Data Notes:This layer is updated automatically when the BLS releases their most current monthly statistics. The layer always contains the most recent estimates. It is updated within days of the BLS"s county release schedule. BLS releases their county statistics roughly 2 months after-the-fact. The data is joined to 2023 TIGER boundaries from the U.S. Census Bureau.Monthly values are subject to revision over time.For national values, employed plus unemployed may not sum to total labor force due to rounding.As of the January 2022 estimates released on March 18th, 2022, BLS is reporting new data for the two new census areas in Alaska - Copper River and Chugach - and historical data for the previous census area - Valdez Cordova.As of the March 17th, 2025 release, BLS now reports data for 9 planning regions in Connecticut rather than the 8 previous counties. To better understand the different labor force statistics included in this map, see the diagram below from BLS:

The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a federal-state cooperative effort in which monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment are prepared for over 7,500 areas: Census regions and divisionsStatesMetropolitan Statistical AreasMetropolitan DivisionsMicropolitan Statistical AreasCombined Metropolitan Statistical AreasSmall Labor Market AreasCounties and county equivalentsCities of 25,000 population or moreCities and towns in New England regardless of population These estimates are key indicators of local economic conditions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the concepts, definitions, technical procedures, validation, and publication of the estimates that state workforce agencies prepare under agreement with BLS. A wide variety of customers use these estimates: Federal programs use the data for allocations to states and areas, as well as eligibility determinations for assistance.State and local governments use the estimates for planning and budgetary purposes and to determine the need for local employment and training services.Private industry, researchers, the media, and other individuals use the data to assess localized labor market developments and make comparisons across areas. The concepts and definitions underlying LAUS data come from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the household survey that is the source of the national unemployment rate. State monthly model-based estimates are controlled in "real time" to sum to national monthly employment and unemployment estimates from the CPS. These models combine current and historical data from the CPS, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, and state unemployment insurance (UI) systems. Estimates for seven large areas and their respective balances of state also are model-based. Estimates for counties are produced through a building-block approach known as the "Handbook method." This procedure also uses data from several sources, including the CPS, the CES program, state UI systems, and the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), to create estimates that are adjusted to the statewide measures of employment and unemployment. Estimates for cities are prepared using disaggregation techniques based on inputs from the ACS, annual population estimates, and current UI data.

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Program is a Federal-State cooperative program between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the California EDD’s Labor Market Information Division (LMID). The QCEW program produces a comprehensive tabulation of employment and wage information for workers covered by California Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and Federal workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. The QCEW program serves as a near census of monthly employment and quarterly wage information by 6-digit industry codes from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at the national, state, and county levels. At the national level, the QCEW program publishes employment and wage data for nearly every NAICS industry. At the state and local area level, the QCEW program publishes employment and wage data down to the 6-digit NAICS industry level, if disclosure restrictions are met. In accordance with the BLS policy, data provided to the Bureau in confidence are used only for specified statistical purposes and are not published. The BLS withholds publication of Unemployment Insurance law-covered employment and wage data for any industry level when necessary to protect the identity of cooperating employers. Data from the QCEW program serve as an important input to many BLS programs. The Current Employment Statistics and the Occupational Employment Statistics programs use the QCEW data as the benchmark source for employment. The UI administrative records collected under the QCEW program serve as a sampling frame for the BLS establishment surveys. In addition, the data serve as an input to other federal and state programs. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce uses the QCEW data as the base for developing the wage and salary component of personal income. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and California's EDD use the QCEW data to administer the Unemployment Insurance program. The QCEW data accurately reflect the extent of coverage of California’s UI laws and are used to measure UI revenues; national, state and local area employment; and total and UI taxable wage trends. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes new QCEW data in its County Employment and Wages news release on a quarterly basis. The BLS also publishes a subset of its quarterly data through the Create Customized Tables system, and full quarterly industry detail data at all geographic levels. Disclaimer: For information regarding future updates or preliminary/final data releases, please refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Release Calendar: https://www.bls.gov/cew/release-calendar.htm

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, Manufacturing (MANEMP) from Jan 1939 to Sep 2025 about headline figure, establishment survey, manufacturing, employment, and USA.

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures the change in the hourly labor cost to employers over time. The ECI uses a fixed “basket” of labor to produce a pure cost change, free from the effects of workers moving between occupations and industries and includes both the cost of wages and salaries and the cost of benefits.In the private sector, business owners and human resources professionals can use the ECI to make decisions about pay adjustments to help them stay competitive. In the public sector, the Federal Reserve and others use the ECI to gauge the health of the labor market, adjust contracts, and research the labor market.There are two data schemas:NAICS-SOC basis (2001-Present) - ciSIC-OCS basis (1979-2005) - ec

1990 to present (approximate 2 month lag) Virginia Labor Force and Unemployment estimates by Month by County.

Special data considerations: Period values of "M01-M12" represent Months of Year; "M13" is the Annual Average.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Local Area Unemployment Statistics, table la.data.54.Virginia Data accessed from the Bureau of Labor Statistics public database LABSTAT (https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/)

Supporting documentation can be found on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website under Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Handbook of Methods (https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/lau/home.htm)

Survey Description: Labor force and unemployment estimates for States and local areas are developed by State workforce agencies to measure local labor market conditions under a Federal-State cooperative program. The Department of Labor develops the concepts, definitions, and technical procedures which are used by State agencies for preparation of labor force and unemployment estimates.

These estimates are derived from a variety of sources, including the Current Population Survey, the Current Employment Statistics survey, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, various programs at the Census Bureau, and unemployment insurance claims data from the State workforce agencies.

To establish uniform labor force concepts and definitions in all States and areas consistent with those used for the U.S. as a whole, monthly national estimates of employment and unemployment from the Current Population Survey are used as controls (benchmarks) for the State labor force statistics.

Summary Data Available: Monthly labor force and unemployment series are available for approximately 7,500 geographic areas, including cities over 25,000 population, counties, metropolitan areas, States, and other areas.

For each area, the following measures are presented by place of residence:

• Total civilian labor force,
• Total number of people employed,
• Total number of people unemployed, and
• Unemployment rate

Data Characteristics: Rates are expressed as percents with one decimal place. Levels are measured as individual persons (not thousands) and are stored with no decimal places.

Historical Employment Statistics 1990 - current. The Current Employment Statistics (CES) more information program provides the most current estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings data by industry (place of work) for the nation as a whole, all states, and most major metropolitan areas. The CES survey is a federal-state cooperative endeavor in which states develop state and sub-state data using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Estimates produced by the CES program include both full- and part-time jobs. Excluded are self-employment, as well as agricultural and domestic positions. In Connecticut, more than 4,000 employers are surveyed each month to determine the number of the jobs in the State. For more information please visit us at http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/ces/default.asp.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides national estimates of rates and levels for job openings, hires, and total separations. Total separations are further broken out into quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Unadjusted counts and rates of all data elements are published by supersector and select sector based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The number of unfilled jobs—used to calculate the job openings rate—is an important measure of the unmet demand for labor. With that statistic, it is possible to paint a more complete picture of the U.S. labor market than by looking solely at the unemployment rate, a measure of the excess supply of labor. Information on labor turnover is valuable in the proper analysis and interpretation of labor market developments and as a complement to the unemployment rate. For more information and data visit: https://www.bls.gov/jlt/

Graph and download economic data for Labor Force Participation Rate - 16-19 Yrs. (LNS11300012) from Jan 1948 to Sep 2025 about 16 to 19 years, participation, labor force, labor, household survey, rate, and USA.

In August 2025, the unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over in the United States came to 4.5 percent. Service occupations had an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent in that month. The underemployment rate of the country can be accessed here and the monthly unemployment rate here. Unemployment by occupation in the U.S. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics publish data on the unemployment situation within certain occupations in the United States on a monthly basis. According to latest data released from May 2023, transportation and material moving occupations experienced the highest level of unemployment that month, with a rate of around 5.6 percent. Second ranked was farming, fishing, and forestry occupations with a rate of 4.9 percent. Total (not seasonally adjusted) unemployment was reported at 3.6 percent in March 2023. Other data on the U.S. unemployment rate by industry and class of worker shows comparable results. It should be noted that the data were not seasonally adjusted to account for normal seasonal fluctuations in unemployment. The monthly unemployment by occupation data can be compared to the seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate. In March 2023, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, which was an increase from the previous month. The annual unemployment rate in 2022 was 3.6 percent, down from a high of 9.6 in 2010. Unemployment in the United States trended downward after the coronavirus pandemic, and is now experiencing consistently low rates - a sign of economic stability. Individuals who opt to leave the workforce and stop looking for employment are not included among the unemployed. The civilian labor force participation rate in the U.S. rose to 62.2 percent in 2022, down from 67.1 percent in 2000, before the financial crisis.

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program conducts a semiannual survey designed to produce estimates of employment and wages for specific occupations. The OES program collects data on wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in order to produce employment and wage estimates for about 800 occupations. Data from self-employed persons are not collected and are not included in the estimates. The OES program produces these occupational estimates for the nation as a whole, by state, by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area, and by industry or ownership. The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces occupational employment and wage estimates for approximately 415 industry classifications at the national level. The industry classifications correspond to the sector, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industrial groups. The OES program surveys approximately 200,000 establishments per panel (every six months), taking three years to fully collect the sample of 1.2 million establishments. To reduce respondent burden, the collection is on a three-year survey cycle that ensures that establishments are surveyed at most once every three years. The estimates for occupations in nonfarm establishments are based on OES data collected for the reference months of May and November. The OES survey is a federal-state cooperative program between the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS provides the procedures and technical support, draws the sample, and produces the survey materials, while the SWAs collect the data. SWAs from all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands participate in the survey. Occupational employment and wage rate estimates at the national level are produced by BLS using data from the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Employers who respond to states' requests to participate in the OES survey make these estimates possible. The OES features several arts-related occupations, particularly in the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations group (Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 27-0000). Several featured occupation groups include the following: Art and Design Workers (SOC 27-1000) Art Directors Fine Artists, including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators Multimedia Artists and Animators Fashion Designers Graphic Designers Set and Exhibit Designers Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers (SOC 27-2000) Actors Producers and Directors Athletes Coaches and Scouts Dancers Choreographers Music Directors and Composers Musicians and Singers Media and Communication Workers (SOC 27-3000) Radio and Television Announcers Reports and Correspondents Public Relations Specialists Writers and Authors Data for years 1997 through the latest release and can be found on the OES Data page. Also, see OES News Releases sections for current estimates and news releases. Users can analyze the data for the nation as a whole, by state, by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area, and by industry or ownership. As well, OES Charts are available. Users may also explore data using OES Maps. If preferred, data can also be accessed via the Multi-Screen Data Search or Text Files using the OES Databases page.

Context

This is a dataset that I built by scraping the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. I was looking for county-level unemployment data and realized that there was a data source for this, but the data set itself hadn't existed yet, so I decided to write a scraper and build it out myself.

Content

This data represents the Local Area Unemployment Statistics from 1990-2016, broken down by state and month. The data itself is pulled from this mapping site:

https://data.bls.gov/map/MapToolServlet?survey=la&map=county&seasonal=u

Further, the ever-evolving and ever-improving codebase that pulled this data is available here:

https://github.com/jayrav13/bls_local_area_unemployment

Acknowledgements

Of course, a huge shoutout to bls.gov and their open and transparent data. I've certainly been inspired to dive into US-related data recently and having this data open further enables my curiosities.

Inspiration

I was excited about building this data set out because I was pretty sure something similar didn't exist - curious to see what folks can do with it once they run with it! A curious question I had was surrounding Unemployment vs 2016 Presidential Election outcome down to the county level. A comparison can probably lead to interesting questions and discoveries such as trends in local elections that led to their most recent election outcome, etc.

Next Steps

Version 1 of this is as a massive JSON blob, normalized by year / month / state. I intend to transform this into a CSV in the future as well.

This layer contains the latest 14 months of unemployment statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The data is offered at the nationwide, state, and county geography levels. Puerto Rico is included. These are not seasonally adjusted values.The layer is updated monthly with the newest unemployment statistics available from BLS. There are attributes in the layer that specify which month is associated to each statistic.Most current month: October 2024 (preliminary values at the county level)The attributes included for each month are:Unemployment rate (%)Count of unemployed populationCount of employed population in the labor forceCount of people in the labor forceData obtained from theU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Data downloaded: December 20, 2024Local Area Unemployment Statistics table download:https://www.bls.gov/lau/#tablesLocal Area Unemployment FTP downloads:State and CountyNationData Notes:This layer is updated automatically when the BLS releases their most current monthly statistics. The layer always contains the most recent estimates. It is updated within days of the BLS's county release schedule. BLS releases their county statistics roughly 2 months after-the-fact.The data is joined to 2021TIGER boundariesfrom theU.S. Census Bureau.Monthly values are subject to revision over time.For national values, employed plus unemployed may not sum to total labor force due to rounding.As of the January 2022 estimates released on March 18th, 2022, BLS is reporting new data for the two new census areas in Alaska - Copper River and Chugach - and historical data for the previous census area - Valdez Cordova.To better understand the different labor force statistics included in this map, see the diagram belowfrom BLS:

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, Federal (CES9091000001) from Jan 1939 to Sep 2025 about establishment survey, federal, government, employment, and USA.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Labor Force Participation Rate. from United States. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Track economic d…

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Survey is a federal-state cooperative program between the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The BLS provides the procedures and technical support, draws the sample, and produces the survey materials, while the SWAs collect the data. SWAs from all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands participate in the survey. Occupational employment and wage rate estimates at the national level are produced by BLS using data from the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Employers who respond to states' requests to participate in the OEWS survey make these estimates possible. The OEWS survey collects data from a sample of establishments and calculates employment and wage estimates by occupation, industry, and geographic area. The semiannual survey covers all non-farm industries. Data are collected by the Employment Development Department in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. The OEWS Program estimates employment and wages for approximately 830 occupations. It also produces employment and wage estimates for statewide, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), and Balance of State areas. Estimates are a snapshot in time and should not be used as a time series. The OEWS estimates are published annually. SOURCE: https://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_emp.htm

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

This dataset uses seasonally adjusted data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to present information on Maryland's labor force participation rate, employment rate, and unemployment rate.

The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a federal-state cooperative effort which produces monthly estimates of produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor force data for approximately 7,000 areas including Census regions and divisions, States, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities.

For more information and data visit: https://www.bls.gov/lau/