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Bureau of Labor Statistics: inflation, jobs and pay

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), part of the Department of Labor, publishes the Consumer Price Index, the monthly Employment Situation report with the unemployment rate and payroll jobs, earnings, producer prices, productivity and occupational pay. Every series has an ID that can be read through the free BLS public data API. Fact-checkers use BLS for claims about inflation, jobs, wages and unemployment.

Release calendar

What it publishes

• Consumer Price Index (CPI-U and CPI-W), monthly, with detail for items such as rent, food and energy.
• The Employment Situation: the unemployment rate from the Current Population Survey and payroll jobs and hourly earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey.
• Usual weekly earnings of full-time workers, quarterly.
• Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics by occupation and area.
• Producer Price Index, Employment Cost Index and productivity statistics.

Key datasets

• Consumer Price Index
  Monthly CPI by item and area; headline series CUUR0000SA0.
  Updated: Monthly
• CPI news release
  Latest CPI release with 12-month and monthly changes.
  Updated: Monthly
• The Employment Situation
  Unemployment rate, payroll jobs, hours and earnings.
  Updated: Monthly (usually first Friday)
• Current Population Survey
  Household survey behind the unemployment rate and weekly earnings.
  Updated: Monthly
• Current Employment Statistics
  Payroll survey of employers: jobs, hours and earnings by industry.
  Updated: Monthly
• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
  Employment and wages for about 800 occupations by state and metro area.
  Updated: Annual

APIs and downloads

• BLS public data API
  JSON API by series ID; version 1 works without a key at low volume, version 2 with a free registration key.
• BLS developers page
  API documentation and series ID formats.

When it publishes

BLS releases are published on dates set in advance in its release calendar. The Employment Situation usually appears on the first Friday of the month and the CPI around the middle of the month. October 2025 data were not collected for several series, so that month is missing.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Quote the series ID you used, for example CUUR0000SA0 for headline CPI or LNS14000000 for the unemployment rate.
2. Compute 12-month inflation from not seasonally adjusted CPI and monthly changes from seasonally adjusted CPI, as BLS does.
3. Check whether a jobs claim uses the household survey (people employed) or the payroll survey (jobs); they differ.
4. Payroll figures are revised twice and benchmarked annually; cite the release date.

Common mistakes

• Average hourly earnings are a mean over all private employees, while median weekly earnings are for full-time workers only.
• CPI rent covers all tenants, so it lags market rents for new leases.
• The BLS website blocks automated readers; use a browser or the API.

What is the latest U.S. inflation rate?

BLS data show CPI-U up 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026. Check the CPI release for the latest month.

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

U-3 is the official unemployment rate. U-6 adds discouraged and marginally attached workers and people working part time for economic reasons.

Can I get BLS data without a key?

Yes. The version 1 API works without registration for a limited number of daily requests; version 2 needs a free key and allows more.

Questions answered using this source

• What is the inflation rate in the United States?
• What is the unemployment rate in the United States?
• What is the average salary in the United States?
• How much has rent gone up in the United States?

Links checked 14 October 2026. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.