# BLS Series ID Formats

Series IDs are the primary key for every BLS API call and bulk data file.
All IDs use a two-letter survey prefix followed by survey-specific coded segments.

---

## LAUS — Local Area Unemployment Statistics (prefix: LA)

**Series ID:** `LA[S][AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA][MM]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | Always `LA` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | `S`=seasonally adjusted, `U`=unadjusted |
| 4-18 | 15 | Area code | See area type prefixes below |
| 19-20 | 2 | Measure code | See table below |

**Area code prefixes:**
| Prefix | Geography |
|--------|-----------|
| `ST` | State (2-digit FIPS + 12 zeros) |
| `MT` | Metropolitan statistical area |
| `MD` | Metro division |
| `CN` | County (5-digit FIPS + 10 zeros) |
| `CS` | City/sub-county |
| `RD` | Region/division |

**Measure codes:**
| Code | Measure |
|------|---------|
| 03 | Unemployment rate |
| 04 | Unemployment (level) |
| 05 | Employment |
| 06 | Labor force |
| 07 | Employment-population ratio |
| 08 | Labor force participation rate |
| 09 | Civilian noninstitutional population |

**Examples:**
```
LAUST110000000000003  → DC, state, seasonally adj, unemployment rate
LAUST110000000000005  → DC, state, seasonally adj, employment
LAUCN110010000000003  → DC County, unadjusted, unemployment rate
```

---

## CES — Current Employment Statistics, National (prefix: CE)

**Series ID:** `CE[S/U][IIIIIIII][DD]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `CE` (national) or `SM` (state/metro) |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | `S`=seasonally adjusted, `U`=unadjusted |
| 4-11 | 8 | Industry code | Supersector (2) + NAICS-derived (6) |
| 12-13 | 2 | Data type | See table below |

**Industry code — supersector first 2 digits:**
| Code | Supersector |
|------|-------------|
| 00 | Total nonfarm |
| 05 | Total private |
| 06 | Goods-producing |
| 07 | Service-providing |
| 08 | Private service-providing |
| 09 | Government |
| 10 | Mining & logging |
| 20 | Construction |
| 30 | Manufacturing |
| 31 | Durable goods |
| 32 | Nondurable goods |
| 40 | Trade, transportation, utilities |
| 41 | Wholesale trade |
| 42 | Retail trade |
| 43 | Trans., warehousing, utilities |
| 50 | Information |
| 55 | Financial activities |
| 60 | Professional & business services |
| 65 | Education & health services |
| 70 | Leisure & hospitality |
| 80 | Other services |
| 90 | Government |

**Data type codes (most common):**
| Code | Measure |
|------|---------|
| 01 | All employees (thousands) |
| 02 | Average weekly hours, all employees |
| 03 | Average hourly earnings, all employees |
| 06 | Production/nonsupervisory employees |
| 07 | Avg weekly hours, prod/nonsupervisory |
| 08 | Avg hourly earnings, prod/nonsupervisory |
| 10 | Women employees |
| 11 | Avg weekly earnings, all employees |

**Examples:**
```
CES0000000001  → Total nonfarm, SA, all employees
CES0500000001  → Total private, SA, all employees
CES3000000001  → Manufacturing, SA, all employees
CES9000000001  → Government, SA, all employees
```

---

## SM — State & Metro Employment (CES State, prefix: SM)

**Series ID:** `SM[S/U][SS][MMMMM][IIIIIIII][DD]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `SM` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | `S` or `U` |
| 4-5 | 2 | State FIPS | e.g., `11`=DC, `24`=MD, `51`=VA |
| 6-10 | 5 | Area code | `00000`=statewide; MSA codes otherwise |
| 11-18 | 8 | Industry code | Same as CES above |
| 19-20 | 2 | Data type | Same as CES above |

**Examples:**
```
SMS110000000000001  → DC statewide, SA, all employees
SMS240000000000001  → Maryland statewide, SA, all employees
```

---

## QCEW — Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages (prefix: EN)

**Series ID:** `EN[U][AAAAA][D][Z][O][IIIIII]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `EN` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | Always `U` (unadjusted) |
| 4-8 | 5 | Area code | US=`00000`; state FIPS; county FIPS |
| 9 | 1 | Data type | `1`=qtrly; `2`=annual |
| 10 | 1 | Size code | `0`=all sizes; `1`–`9`=specific size classes |
| 11 | 1 | Ownership code | See table below |
| 12-17 | 6 | Industry code | NAICS or supersector |

**Ownership codes:**
| Code | Ownership |
|------|-----------|
| 0 | All ownerships |
| 1 | Federal government |
| 2 | State government |
| 3 | Local government |
| 4 | International government |
| 5 | Private |

**Examples:**
```
ENU1100010510000  → DC, quarterly, all sizes, private, total all industries
ENU0000010510000  → National, quarterly, private, all industries
```

---

## OES/OEWS — Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (prefix: OE)

**Series ID:** `OE[U][T][AAAAAAA][IIIIII][OOOOOO][DD]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `OE` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | Always `U` |
| 4 | 1 | Area type | `N`=national; `S`=state; `M`=metro; `B`=metro div; `W`=nonmetro |
| 5-11 | 7 | Area code | BLS area code (not FIPS) |
| 12-17 | 6 | Industry code | NAICS or `000000` for cross-industry |
| 18-23 | 6 | Occupation code | SOC 6-digit code or `000000` for all |
| 24-25 | 2 | Data type | See table below |

**Data type codes:**
| Code | Measure |
|------|---------|
| 01 | Employment (thousands) |
| 02 | Employment % relative standard error |
| 03 | Hourly mean wage |
| 04 | Annual mean wage |
| 05 | Wage % relative standard error |
| 06 | Hourly 10th percentile wage |
| 07 | Hourly 25th percentile wage |
| 08 | Hourly median wage |
| 09 | Hourly 75th percentile wage |
| 10 | Hourly 90th percentile wage |
| 11 | Annual 10th percentile wage |
| 12 | Annual 25th percentile wage |
| 13 | Annual median wage |
| 14 | Annual 75th percentile wage |
| 15 | Annual 90th percentile wage |

**Examples:**
```
OEUM0000400000000000001  → National, all industries, all occupations, employment
OEUM0000400000015113201  → National, all industries, software devs, employment
```

---

## JOLTS — Job Openings & Labor Turnover (prefix: JT)

**Series ID:** `JT[S/U][IIIIII][E/J][RR][LL]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `JT` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | `S` or `U` |
| 4-9 | 6 | Industry code | NAICS supersector |
| 10 | 1 | Job status | `E`=total; `J`=job openings; `H`=hires; `L`=layoffs/discharges; `Q`=quits; `T`=total separations |
| 11-12 | 2 | Rate/level | `R`=rate; `L`=level (thousands) |
| 13-14 | 2 | Ownership | `00`=total; `10`=private; `20`=government |

**Examples:**
```
JTS000000000000JOL  → Total nonfarm, job openings, level
JTS000000000000JOR  → Total nonfarm, job openings, rate
JTS000000000000HIL  → Total nonfarm, hires, level
JTS000000000000TSL  → Total nonfarm, total separations, level
```

---

## CPI — Consumer Price Index (prefix: CU / CW / SU)

**Prefixes:**
- `CU` — CPI-U (All Urban Consumers)  
- `CW` — CPI-W (Urban Wage Earners)
- `SU` — Chained CPI-U (C-CPI-U)

**Series ID:** `CU[S/U][R/S][AAAA][IIIIII]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `CU`, `CW`, or `SU` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | `S`=SA; `U`=unadjusted |
| 4 | 1 | Periodicity | `R`=monthly; `S`=semiannual |
| 5-8 | 4 | Area code | `0000`=US city average; others=specific metros |
| 9-14 | 6 | Item code | Expenditure category code |

**Common item codes:**
| Code | Category |
|------|----------|
| SA0 | All items |
| SA0E | Energy |
| SA0L1E | All items less food and energy (core) |
| SAF | Food |
| SAF1 | Food at home |
| SAF11 | Cereals and bakery products |
| SAH | Housing |
| SAH1 | Shelter |
| SAT | Transportation |
| SAM | Medical care |

**Examples:**
```
CUUR0000SA0    → US city avg, unadjusted, all items
CUSR0000SA0L1E → US city avg, SA, core (ex food & energy)
CUUR0000SAF    → US city avg, unadjusted, food
```

---

## PPI — Producer Price Index (prefix: WP / PC)

- `WP` — PPI commodities (older series)
- `PC` — PPI industry data (NAICS-based, current)

**Series ID (PC):** `PC[U][IIIIII][IIIIII]`

| Pos | Length | Field | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| 1-2 | 2 | Prefix | `PC` |
| 3 | 1 | Seasonal adj | `U`=unadjusted (most PPI); `S`=SA |
| 4-9 | 6 | Industry code | NAICS 6-digit |
| 10-15 | 6 | Product code | Product within the industry |

---

## Helpful Discovery Commands

```bash
# All surveys
curl -s "https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/surveys" | python3 -m json.tool

# Popular series for a survey
curl -s "https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/popular?survey=LA"

# Bulk download decode tables (e.g. LAUS area codes)
curl -s "https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.area" | head -50
curl -s "https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.measure"
curl -s "https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ce/ce.datatype"
curl -s "https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ce/ce.supersector"
curl -s "https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.state"
```