Labor & Employment datasets

U.S. civilian unemployment rate as a percentage of the labor force, seasonally adjusted. Monthly data from 1948.

Monthly employment, hours, and earnings estimates for ~900 industries at the national level. Source of the monthly "jobs report." Covers all employees, production/nonsupervisory employees, women employees, average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and overtime hours by industry. Data classified by 2022 NAICS. Most series begin in 1990; supersectors available from 1939.

Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance (ICSA). Weekly data from 1967. Seasonally adjusted. Key high-frequency labor market indicator showing the number of new unemployment claims filed each week.

American Time Use Survey (ATUS) measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing. The only federal survey providing comprehensive data on the full range of nonmarket activities, from household work to leisure. Published annually since 2003.

Near-census of U.S. business establishments from state unemployment insurance records. Publishes quarterly employment levels, total wages, and average weekly wages broken down by area, ownership type, and NAICS industry code. Uses the BLS open data industry slices covering all industries at the national level. Data from 2014 Q1 to present.

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Includes civilian labor force, employment, unemployment, unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-population ratio. National data by demographics, industry, occupation, and other characteristics.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) provides a comprehensive count of fatal work injuries in the United States. Data includes fatalities by industry, occupation, event/exposure type, worker demographics, and state. Uses multiple source documents to compile the most complete count of workplace fatalities available.

Weekly and Hourly Earnings from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Provides median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, and other characteristics. Published quarterly, this data is central to understanding wage trends and inequality.

Annual snapshot of U.S. business establishments, firms, employment, and payroll from the Census Bureau's Statistics of U.S. Businesses program. Broken down by state, NAICS industry sector, and enterprise employment size class. Covers 2018-2022 with detailed size breakdowns. SUSB data typically lags 2-3 years behind the current year.

National Compensation Survey (NCS) provides comprehensive data on occupational wages by area and occupation. Covers wage percentiles (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th), mean wages, and employment for detailed occupations across metropolitan areas and broad geographic regions.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) provides employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations at the national, state, and metropolitan area levels. Essential for labor market analysis, wage benchmarking, and workforce planning.

Major Sector Productivity and Costs measures labor productivity (output per hour), unit labor costs, and related data for major sectors of the U.S. economy. Key indicators for understanding economic efficiency and inflationary pressures. Published quarterly.

Business Employment Dynamics (BED) tracks gross job gains and losses at the establishment level. Measures job creation from opening and expanding establishments, and job destruction from closing and contracting ones. Quarterly data derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

Employee Benefits Survey from the National Compensation Survey. Measures the incidence and detailed provisions of employer-sponsored benefits including healthcare plans, retirement plans, paid leave, insurance, and other benefits. Covers private industry and state/local government workers separately.

Median weekly earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey (2024). Shows the wage premium for higher education compared to a high school diploma baseline. Covers 8 education levels from less than high school through doctoral and professional degrees.

Occupational Injuries and Illnesses industry data from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). Provides injury and illness incidence rates and case counts by detailed NAICS industry. Covers total recordable cases, cases with days away from work, and cases with job transfer or restriction.

Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures changes in labor costs including wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. A key indicator of inflationary pressure from labor markets. Published quarterly for private industry and state/local government workers.

Industry Productivity measures labor productivity (output per hour) and unit labor costs for detailed NAICS industries. Covers manufacturing, mining, utilities, retail trade, and selected service industries. Essential for understanding which industries drive aggregate productivity growth.

Weekly business formation statistics by state from the U.S. Census Bureau. Tracks new business applications for Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) at the state level. Includes total applications, high-propensity (likely to become employers), planned-wages, and corporate applications. Not seasonally adjusted. Weekly data from 2006 to present.