Unemployment Rate API

GET

Compare latest unemployment rates across 200+ countries.

Unemployment Rate looks up labor statistics by two- or three-letter ISO country code. It returns the country name, reporting year, and record count, with paid plans adding historical annual rates.

Try it — live request, no key required

Request

GETapi.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment?country=USA

Query parameters

countrystring

Verification

Format

No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.

Example

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "country": "USA",
    "countryName": "United States",
    "year": 2024,
    "count": 1,
    "historical": [
      {
        "year": 2024,
        "rate": 4.02
      }
    ]
  },
  "code": 200
}

About the Unemployment Rate API

Unemployment Rate provides annual unemployment data from the World Bank, based on ILO (International Labour Organization) modeled estimates. The data covers virtually every country in the world and is updated annually. Use this for economic analysis, country comparisons, and labor market research.

What people use it for

Economic Analysis: Analyze unemployment trends to understand economic health and labor market conditions
Country Comparison: Compare unemployment rates across different countries and regions
Historical Research: Track unemployment changes over time to study economic cycles and policy impacts
Investment Research: Factor unemployment data into investment decisions and economic forecasting

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON: Default REST response
XML: Markup format
YAML: Human-readable
CSV: Tabular export
GraphQL: Query language
MCP: For AI agents

View all integrations →

Other ways to use Unemployment Rate

Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.

Give it to an AI agentConnect over MCP and your agent calls it as a native tool — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.on VerveKit Google Sheets or ExcelA =VERVE() formula fills a column — no script, no export, recalculates in place.on VerveSheets Ground an agent on itA cited, machine-checkable fact your model can't produce on its own.on VerveContext

Questions.

Common questions about the Unemployment Rate API.

Read the docs →

Which countries and years does the unemployment data cover?

You can query over 200 countries using standard 2-letter or 3-letter ISO codes, such as US, USA, DE, or DEU. Data spans from 1991 through the present day.

How far does the Starter plan go for unemployment lookups?

Each query uses 2 credits. Starter provides 200,000 credits each month, which covers 100,000 lookups and works out to about $0.0003 per call or $0.30 per 1,000 calls. The Free plan gives you 100 lookups per month.

Are historical rate arrays and past years included on the Free plan?

No, historical rates and the ability to filter by a specific year are premium features. Free plan responses return only the latest baseline record, whereas any paid plan unlocks historical records dating back to 1991.

Where does this unemployment data come from?

The data comes directly from the World Bank and is based on modeled estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO). It measures unemployment as a percentage of the total labor force and receives annual updates.

What does the API return if I omit the year parameter?

It automatically returns the most recent year available for that country. If you need a specific past year between 1991 and the present, you can supply that year directly on any paid plan.

Can I show these unemployment statistics inside a commercial app?

Yes, commercial use is permitted on all paid plans. You can incorporate the data into your software dashboards, research reports, or customer tools, but you cannot resell or redistribute the raw dataset on its own.

Request parameters — GET /v1/unemployment

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.

Required

Parameter	Type	Example	Description
`country`Required	string	`USA`	ISO country code (2 or 3 letter). Examples: US, USA, DE, DEU, GB, GBR length 2-3

Optional

Parameter	Type	Example	Description
`year`OptionalPremium	integer	`2023`	Specific year to retrieve data for (1991-present). Returns latest if not specified. range 1991-2030

Example request

1
2

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment?country=USA&year=2023" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.

Header	When	Value
`x-api-key`Required	Every request	Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so `X-API-Key` is the same header.
`Authorization`Alternate	Instead of the above	`Bearer <key>` — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing.

401 is the only auth verdict

A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.

Response — GET /v1/unemployment

Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.

Sample response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "country": "USA",
    "countryName": "United States",
    "year": 2024,
    "count": 1,
    "historical": [
      {
        "year": 2024,
        "rate": 4.02
      }
    ]
  },
  "code": 200
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Field	Type	Example	Description
`country`	string	`"USA"`	ISO code representing the country queried
`countryName`	string	`"United States"`	Full official name of the country
`year`	number	`2024`	Year of the unemployment data returned
`count`	number	`1`	Number of historical records available
`historical`Premium	array[1]		Array of historical unemployment rates by year
`year`Premium	number	`2024`	Year for historical unemployment record
`rate`Premium	number	`4.02`	Unemployment rate as percentage of labor force

Response headers

Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.

Header	What it carries
`x-api-remaining-credits`	Credits left in the current cycle
`x-api-credits-used`	Credits spent in the current cycle
`x-api-max-credits`	The allowance for the cycle
`x-api-version`	Version of the endpoint that answered

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.

Status	Meaning	What to do
`400`	Input was rejected	Read `error`; it names the parameter that has to change.
`401`	Key missing or invalid	Check the header name and the key value.
`403`	Key valid, but not permitted here	A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key.
`429`	Rate limited, or out of credits	Read `error` to tell them apart, then back off or top up.

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.

Plan	Per month	Credits	Unemployment Rate calls	Per 1,000 calls
Free	Free	200	100	Free
Starter	$29.99	200,000	100,000	$0.30
Pro	$99.99	1,000,000	500,000	$0.20
Mega	$299.99	4,000,000	2,000,000	$0.15

Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.

Compare all pricing tiers →

Call it from cURL — GET /v1/unemployment

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/unemployment with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

cURL

1
2

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Resources

GitHubapiverve/unemployment-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceUnemployment Rate API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/unemploymentnpm APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/unemployment

Install the Node.js SDK, then call the Unemployment Rate API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — npm

npm install @apiverve/unemployment

Node.js

const res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment", {
  headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Resources

npm@apiverve/unemploymentThe published Node.js client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/unemployment-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceUnemployment Rate API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Python — GET /v1/unemployment

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/unemployment with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Python

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment",
    headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/unemploymentnpm APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/unemployment

Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the Unemployment Rate API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — NuGet

dotnet add package APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRate

C# / .NET

using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");

var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment");
Console.WriteLine(json);

Resources

NuGetAPIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateThe published C# / .NET client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/unemployment-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceUnemployment Rate API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/unemploymentnpm

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Go — GET /v1/unemployment

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/unemployment with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")

res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/unemploymentnpm APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from PHP — GET /v1/unemployment

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/unemployment with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

PHP

$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/unemploymentnpm APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/unemployment

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/unemployment with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Ruby

require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/unemployment")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"

res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.body

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/unemploymentnpm APIVerve.API.UnemploymentRateNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

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Unemployment Rate API

Try it — live request, no key required

About the Unemployment Rate API

What people use it for

Ways to call it

Other ways to use Unemployment Rate

Questions.

Request parameters — GET /v1/unemployment

Required

Optional

Authentication

Response — GET /v1/unemployment

Response fields

Response headers

Errors

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Call it from cURL — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Python — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Go — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Call it from PHP — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/unemployment

Resources

Also published for

Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend

Changelog — Unemployment Rate API

Finance

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