Unemployment API
FRED + BLS
U-1 through U-6
50 States + DC

Labor market data. Fully structured.

National and state unemployment rates, every BLS underutilization measure, demographic breakdowns, labor force participation, and jobless claims — with MoM and YoY changes computed server-side.

U-1–U-6 · underutilization51 · states + DC4 · demographic groupsMoM / YoY · computed
View API docs

Pull the national rate, live.

This calls the live Unemployment API. Choose a period and seasonal adjustment; if the upstream FRED key isn't configured, you'll see the exact 503 gate response instead of a fake number.

Request builder
Period and adjustment in, national rate out.
GET /unemployment
Seasonally adjusted
Toggle off for the not-seasonally-adjusted series.
Beyond the headline rate
GET /measures returns U-1 through U-6; GET /state and /states cover every US state; GET /demographic breaks results out by age, gender, race, or education.
Output preview
Live response from the API, plus the exact request to reproduce it.

Loading live rate...

Why Unemployment API

The full labor market picture.

Six underutilization measures

U-1 through U-6 in one call, each with the full BLS definition, unit, and latest observation.

Demographic breakdowns

Unemployment rate by age, gender, race/ethnicity, or education using BLS CPS series in a single batch request.

Every state plus DC

GET /states fetches all 51 in parallel; GET /state returns one state's rate on demand.

Labor force health

Civilian labor force participation rate and employment-population ratio from FRED CIVPART and EMRATIO.

Jobless claims

Weekly initial and continued claims (ICSA and CCSA) with configurable period windows.

MoM and YoY changes

Non-latest periods return a computed changes object with absolute and percent month-over-month and year-over-year deltas.

/api/v1/unemployment

Endpoints, at a glance.

National, state, and demographic unemployment data, plus labor force and claims metrics — all GET, all backed by FRED and BLS.
GET/api/v1/unemployment

National rate

National unemployment rate with optional period and seasonal adjustment toggle.

PRIMARY
GET/api/v1/unemployment/measures

U-1 through U-6

All six BLS alternative measures of labor underutilization.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/labor-force

Labor force health

Civilian labor force participation rate and employment-population ratio.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/claims

Jobless claims

Initial and continued weekly jobless claims.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/long-term

Long-term unemployment

Persons unemployed 27 weeks or more.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/demographic

Demographic breakdown

Unemployment rate by age, gender, race/ethnicity, or education. Requires group.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/state

Single state

Unemployment rate for one US state. Requires state.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/states

All states

Latest rate for all 50 states plus DC in one call.

GET/api/v1/unemployment/series

Series catalog

Full catalog of endpoints, parameters, and FRED/BLS series IDs. No upstream key required.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
periodstringnolatest, 1y, 5y, or 10y depending on endpoint. Defaults to latest.
adjustedbooleannoSeasonally adjusted (true, default) or not (false). Applies to the national rate.
measurestringnou1..u6 or all for /measures. Defaults to all.
groupstringyes*age, gender, race, or education. Required for /demographic.
statestringyes*Two-letter US state code (DC included). Required for /state.
typestringnoinitial, continued, or both for /claims. Defaults to both.

Error reference

Failures you can plan for.

Every error includes a correlationId for tracing, and gated endpoints return available: false instead of a silent failure.
400Validation Error

Invalid or missing parameter value, such as an unsupported period or missing group/state.

401Unauthorized

Missing or invalid API key. Send x-api-key or api_key with every request.

404Not Found

Unknown endpoint path under /api/v1/unemployment.

429Rate Limited

More than 200 requests in a 15-minute window per IP.

503Feature Gated

FRED_API_KEY or BLS_API_KEY is not configured server-side. Response includes available: false.

Example gated response (503)

{
  "success": false,
  "available": false,
  "reason": "This feature requires API key configuration. Contact Datpaq to enable.",
  "feature": "unemployment-live-data",
  "correlationId": "1784690347028-abc123"
}

FAQ

API questions developers ask first.

Where does the unemployment data come from?

National and state rates, labor force participation, and jobless claims come from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Demographic breakdowns come from BLS Current Population Survey series.

What is the difference between the U-3 and U-6 measures?

U-3 is the official unemployment rate. U-6 is the broadest measure — total unemployed plus marginally attached workers plus those employed part time for economic reasons. GET /measures returns all six with definitions.

Can I get unemployment rates for a single state?

Yes. GET /state?state=CA returns the latest rate for any two-letter state code (DC included). GET /states returns all 51 in one call.

What happens if the upstream API key isn't configured?

Most endpoints require FRED_API_KEY or BLS_API_KEY server-side. If it's missing, the API returns a 503 with available: false and a reason string instead of failing silently.

How do I authenticate requests?

Send your Datpaq API key as an x-api-key header or an api_key query parameter. Keys are created in the Datpaq dashboard and a free tier is included.

Add labor market data in one request.

National, state, and demographic unemployment data, underutilization measures, and jobless claims — normalized from FRED and BLS.

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