# x402-factory BLS Unemployment Rate

> x402-factory BLS Unemployment Rate is a paid API for AI agents from x402-factory.com, paid per call via x402, $0.02/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-29).

Returns the latest BLS unemployment rate print from FRED/ALFRED with first-release vs revised values, surprise vs expectation, next release date, and a 12-month mini-series.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://x402-factory.com/v1/econ/unemployment?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.02/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/x402-factory-bls-unemployment-rate-c7cf74d2
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_Dk7mrqplZwsPcPY1bweA8

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability x402-factory-bls-unemployment-rate-c7cf74d2
```

Example prompt: What's the latest US unemployment rate from the BLS — did it beat or miss expectations, has it been revised since first release, and when is the next report due?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a fully packaged BLS unemployment data snapshot — including revision tracking, first-release vs latest values, and a surprise signal — without building your own FRED/ALFRED pipeline. It is especially useful when you want to know whether the print beat market or model expectations, or when you need the next release date without scraping BLS calendars. Prefer it over raw FRED API calls when you want surprise, revision, and prediction-market context bundled in one call at low cost ($0.02 USDC).

## Known failure modes

- FRED/ALFRED data unavailable or delayed — endpoint may return stale or cached data
- No matching prediction market exists — expectation_source falls back to trend-model
- Payment not completed via x402 protocol — request returns 402 Payment Required
- ALFRED first-release data missing for recent observations — revised flag may be indeterminate
- Rate limits or upstream BLS data release delays can cause brief data gaps around release windows

## How this service works

Unemployment rate (BLS, monthly): latest print, revisions, surprise — Latest Unemployment rate print from the BLS via FRED/ALFRED: first-release vs latest value with a revised flag (revisions never pose as print-day numbers), surprise vs a labeled expectation (market-implied when a matching prediction market exists, else trend-model), next monthly release date, and a 12-observation mini-series.…

## Output

Returns a JSON object with: the FRED series ID and title, latest print details (obs date, headline value, units, first-release value, latest value, revised flag), surprise object (actual vs expected, expectation source — market-implied or trend-model — and optional linked prediction market), next monthly release date, a 12-observation recent mini-series, and a revisions array showing first-release vs latest for prior periods.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "properties": {
   "type": "string"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "data": {
   "title": "Unemployment Rate",
   "units": "Percent",
   "recent": [
    {
     "value": 4.3,
     "obs_date": "2025-07-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.3,
     "obs_date": "2025-08-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.4,
     "obs_date": "2025-09-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.5,
     "obs_date": "2025-11-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.4,
     "obs_date": "2025-12-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.3,
     "obs_date": "2026-01-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.4,
     "obs_date": "2026-02-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.3,
     "obs_date": "2026-03-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.3,
     "obs_date": "2026-04-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.3,
     "obs_date": "2026-05-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.2,
     "obs_date": "2026-06-01"
    },
    {
     "value": 4.1,
     "obs_date": "2026-07-01"
    }
   ],
   "series": "unemployment",
   "fred_id": "UNRATE",
   "surprise": {
    "actual": 4.1,
    "expected": 4.2,
    "surprise": -0.1,
    "expectation_detail": "trend-model: naive (prior level)",
    "expectation_source": "trend-model"
   },
   "frequency": "Monthly",
   "revisions": [
    {
     "obs_date": "2025-11-01",
     "first_value": 4.6,
     "latest_value": 4.5
    },
    {
     "obs_date": "2025-07-01",
     "first_value": 4.2,
     "latest_value": 4.3
    },
    {
     "obs_date": "2025-05-01",
     "first_value": 4.2,
     "latest_value": 4.3
    }
   ],
   "latest_print": {
    "revised": false,
    "headline": 4.1,
    "obs_date": "2026-07-01",
    "latest_value": 4.1,
    "headline_basis": "first release level",
    "headline_units": "%",
    "first_released_on": "2026-08-07",
    "first_release_value": 4.1
   },
   "release_name": "Employment Situation",
   "source_agency": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
   "next_release_date": "2026-09-04",
   "next_release_expectation": {
    "slug": "unemployment-above-4-5pct-2026-09",
    "expected": 4.5,
    "market_p": 0.312,
    "question": "Will the US unemployment rate exceed 4.5% in the August report?"
   }
  },
  "meta": {
   "docs": "https://x402-factory.com/docs/econ.series.unemployment",
   "sources": [
    "fred"
   ],
   "version": "1.0.0",
   "endpoint": "/v1/econ/unemployment",
   "data_mode": "live",
   "freshness": "daily",
   "request_id": "req_00000000",
   "generated_at": "2026-08-21T03:58:57.919Z"
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/x402-factory-bls-unemployment-rate-c7cf74d2/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402-factory.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402-factory.com/llms.txt)