BLS Employment & Wages

Unemployment rates, labor force, and Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

CommunityDegradedNo sign-inGlobalFreeRead-only

What it can do

    What data it sees

    Do you need an account

    No: the server works without sign-in

    Unemployment rates, labor force, and Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

    How to connect

    How to connect BLS Employment & Wages to Claude

    The server address to paste into Claude settings:

    https://mcp.olyport.com/bls/mcp

    1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
    2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
    3. Click Add custom connector.
    4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
    5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

    Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

    Authorization

    After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

    How to connect BLS Employment & Wages to ChatGPT

    The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

    https://mcp.olyport.com/bls/mcp

    1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
    2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
    3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
    4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
    5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
    6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

    OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

    Authorization

    On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

    How to connect BLS Employment & Wages to Cursor

    The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

    https://mcp.olyport.com/bls/mcp

    Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

    Manually:

    1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
    2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
    3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

    Authorization

    If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

    Server tool list (4)

    Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

    get_unemployment_rateGet unemployment rate time series from BLS LAUS data. Returns monthly unemployment rates for a state or county. Data is returned in chronological order with year, period, and percentage value. Args: state: Two-letter US state abbreviation (e.g. 'WA', 'CA', 'NY'). county_fips: Optional 3-digit county FIPS code (e.g. '033' for King County). If provided, returns county-level data; otherwise state-level. start_year: Start year for data (default 2020, min 4-digit year). end_year: End year for data (default 2025).
    get_labor_force_dataGet labor force participation, employment, and unemployment counts for a state. Returns three time series: labor force size, employment count, and unemployment count. All values are in thousands of persons. Args: state: Two-letter US state abbreviation (e.g. 'WA', 'CA', 'NY'). start_year: Start year for data (default 2020). end_year: End year for data (default 2025).
    get_cpi_dataGet national Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Returns the CPI-U (All Urban Consumers, All Items) monthly time series. This is the headline CPI measure used for inflation tracking. Base period: 1982-84=100. Args: start_year: Start year for data (default 2020). end_year: End year for data (default 2025).
    get_county_employmentGet county-level unemployment rate, employment, and labor force data. Returns three time series for a specific county: unemployment rate (percent), employment count, and labor force size. Args: state: Two-letter US state abbreviation (e.g. 'WA', 'CA', 'NY'). county_fips: Three-digit county FIPS code as a string (e.g. '033' for King County, WA). start_year: Start year for data (default 2020). end_year: End year for data (default 2025).