Queries U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data using the BLS MCP server. Use when user asks about CPI, inflation, unemployment, employment, wages, jobs, labor statistics, producer prices, or any economic indicator tracked by BLS. Maps natural language to correct series IDs and tools. Copied from https://github.com/larasrinath/bls_mcp
When a user asks about U.S. economic/labor data, follow this workflow to resolve their query into the correct BLS series ID(s) and return accurate results.
Map the user's natural language to a BLS survey and series ID. Consult references/series-catalog.md for the full mapping of common topics to series IDs.
Common mappings:
CUUR0000SA0 (not seasonally adjusted) or CUSR0000SA0 (seasonally adjusted)LNS14000000CES0000000001CES0500000003JTS000000000000000JOLIf the topic is ambiguous or you cannot confidently map it, use get_all_surveys to find the survey, then get_popular_series with the survey abbreviation to discover series IDs.
| User intent | Tool | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Latest value / current number | get_latest_series | "What is the current...", "latest...", "most recent..." |
| Recent trend / time series | get_single_series | "Show me CPI for the last few years", "trend in..." |
| Compare multiple indicators | get_multiple_series | "Compare X and Y", multiple series needed |
| Explore what's available | get_all_surveys then get_popular_series | "What data do you have on...", discovery questions |
| Details about a survey | get_survey | "Tell me about the [survey name]" |
calculations field is not available (requires API key).If you cannot confidently identify the series ID:
get_all_surveys to find the relevant survey abbreviation.get_popular_series with that survey abbreviation.Do NOT guess a series ID. An incorrect series ID will return wrong data silently.
If you see a rate limit error, inform the user they can set BLS_API_KEY for higher limits (500 queries/day vs 25).
Some series are discontinued or seasonal. Try the non-seasonally-adjusted variant, or check the survey metadata with get_survey.
Double-check the ID against references/series-catalog.md. BLS series IDs are case-sensitive and must be uppercase.